The Edge of Darkness
by Vortexia
Summary: No one was beyond saving. At least, that's what Link thought, before encountering a mysterious man named Dark with an even more mysterious past. As they work together to reunite Hyrule with worlds long forgotten and pick up the pieces of Dark's life, they'll discover that no matter who you are, it's never too late to be saved from the edge of darkness. Post-OoT. Link x Dark; Yaoi.
1. First Things First

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hello, and welcome! This is the first story I have published on FanFiction in a long time, and I would be lying if I didn't say I was at least a little nervous about it. So thanks for giving it a chance!

This story is a Romance/Adventure featuring Link x Dark. It is set approximately a year after the events of Ocarina of Time, except that Link never went back in time. In this story, Dark is not Link's shadow or dark side, but rather a person that he meets during a new adventure that just happens to look and dress a bit like him.

I welcome all favorites, subscriptions, reviews, messages, questions, and comments. I will try to do my best to answer any questions I've gotten at the end of each chapter!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER**

I do not own The Legend of Zelda, nor do I own any of its characters, settings, items, or storylines. Neither I nor this story is associated with Nintendo or any other official creators and distributors of The Legend of Zelda.

Though I will only be stating this disclaimer once, please know it applies to this story as a whole, and not just this chapter.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **First Things First**

* * *

"Ahh!" Link awoke from yet another one of the nightmares that had plagued him since his defeat of Ganon a little over a year ago. They were all different, but in each one he was faced with a situation that he couldn't get out of, that took his life or the lives of those he cared about. This particular one featured tendrils of yellow smoke, seeping into his nose and mouth until he could no longer breathe. Even fully awake now, the acrid smell stayed with him, haunting him.

Every time he had a nightmare, he wished Navi was still with him. Despite all her faults, the fairy had provided him with constant companionship, something which Link had come to rely on during their long journey together. He had trouble falling back asleep sometimes for fear of having another bad dream, and being with someone else helped him a lot. However, though Navi wasn't there, Link reminded himself that he did still have one friend he could turn to in a time of need.

Shivering, he grabbed his blanket from the floor where it had fallen. He didn't care that it was late at night, and that he should probably be using more than just his blanket to shield himself from the cold. Walking out the door, he leaned over the balcony and stared down at his friend. Epona. She was a fine horse, a gift from Malon at Lon Lon Ranch. After his adventure was over, he had thought it only right to return her, but her previous owner had felt differently. _"She's bonded to you now, Link. To take her away would be cruel. Nothing hurts people more than being separated from the ones they love."_

And now, Link found that he was very grateful to have her. Slowly climbing down the ladder, he placed a hand on her neck. "Hi girl. How are you doing tonight?" He got no response; her slow and steady breathing told him Epona was asleep. He smiled and hummed the first few notes of Epona's Song quietly. Did horses dream? If so, he hoped she was having a good one. Looking up at her as if silently asking her permission, he laid out his blanket on the ground next to her. She might have been a horse, and she might have been asleep, but at least he wouldn't have to spend the rest of the night alone.

The next morning, Link awoke to a shrill tone, repeated in a distinctive pattern. He sat straight up, reaching for his weapons before remembering that he had left them in his house. Thankfully, he had a good idea of where the noise came from and what it was, and he highly doubted he would need to defend himself from it.

"Hero of Time." The voice came from several feet in front of him, and Link stretched briefly before picking himself up off the ground. The voice belonged to one of the members of the Royal Guard, and the noise he had heard was a trumpet being played by his partner. He saluted them both, standing at attention until they reached him. He realized too late that he was dressed only in his undershirt and a too-small pair of breeches – certainly not appropriate attire to greet messengers of the Princess in. Thankfully, most members of the Royal Guard knew who he was, and they were no more likely to laugh at him than they were to make fun of the Princess.

"At ease, soldier" they said in unison, coming to a halt in front of him. Link complied, putting his hand down at his side and grinning at them. He wasn't actually a soldier, but he was a strong believer in respecting the customs of those around him. He always would observe others and their behavior before speaking or acting, usually earning him respect among various groups of people. He knew that the members of the Royal Guard lived by a strict code of respect for rank and accomplishments, and he liked to honor that code whenever possible.

"The Princess Zelda's coronation is tomorrow morning," the guard on the left gently reminded him. "We were sent to escort you across Hyrule Field, and give you this official invitation to the ceremony from Zelda." He produced a small scroll from his armor, sealed with the image of the Triforce and tied shut with a golden ribbon. Link took it and opened it, inwardly groaning. The last thing he needed was another official piece of paper allowing him entry into the castle. It was always more fun to just break in, anyway – not that he bothered to share that information with anyone.

This piece of paper was no different than the dozen or so others he had received over the last year, stating his name, his title, and his reason for being allowed into the castle. He always made sure to carry them with him, but he hardly ever needed them. The palace workers all knew who Link was, and he was allowed to visit whenever he wanted. The paper usually meant there were other visitors at the palace, and was provided as a courtesy to make sure Link could move through the castle freely.

"We'll have to leave soon, sir," one of the guards spoke up again, shifting from side to side uncomfortably. It was obvious that they needed to get back to the castle, but they seemed a bit reluctant to tell him to hurry up. He realized that the guards probably couldn't move as fast as he could, and that they would need to leave soon if they wanted to get there before nightfall.

"I'll be ready in just a minute, gentlemen," Link told him, making a grandiose gesture at his clothing – or lack of. "This is hardly respectable attire to wear to the castle." This got a chuckle out of both of the guards, and Link bowed slightly before turning to his treehouse. He put one foot on the ladder, ignoring the creaking of the wood as he put his weight on the first rung. The ladder had been made for a child, and wasn't meant to hold more than a child's weight – but as long as he moved quickly, he felt fairly confident that it wouldn't break.

Back up in his one room treehouse, he pulled out a dresser drawer, searching for an older tunic he could wear. He had a nice brand new one that he intended to wear during the coronation, but he was likely to get dirty on the ride there and didn't want to ruin it. Rummaging through the unfolded assortment of breeches, shirts, tunics, and hats, he finally pulled out a rumpled green tunic with some dirt on the hem and sweat stains on the armpits. He put it on, and then stuck his head out the window. "Do you have horses with you?" he called down to the guards. Epona was more than capable of carrying additional people, but if two of those people had armor, she wouldn't be able to carry any supplies.

"We do," one replied, craning his neck to try and see up into Link's house. "Two horses. We left them outside the forest entrance, tied to a tree. They seemed a little too spooked to walk over the bridge with us." Link nodded his head sadly, and pulled his head back inside so he could finish getting dressed. As far as he knew, Epona was the only horse that had successfully entered Kokiri Forest in years – and even then, it took a lot of coaxing.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed to put on his boots, he spotted the pack he had prepared the night before. It had a couple weapons tucked into it, two changes of clothes for the ceremony and any time he would be spending at the castle afterwards, and a few treats for Epona. That was fairly standard for a traveling pack for him, at least when he expected to not be gone for very long. Since this was a special occasion, he had brought more weapons than normal, but everything else he needed Epona was already carrying. He grabbed the pack, and held it out the window. "Catch!" he yelled to the guards, who scrambled to reach the falling pack before it hit the ground. They succeeded, and Link hopped off his balcony, rolling to his feet in front of them.

"Thank you!" he beamed at them, taking his pack and attaching it to Epona, setting it on the same side as his bow. His sword and shield were already attached on her other side. She was awake now, calmly surveying the situation. Link patted her on the head, his way of telling her that they would be leaving soon. He held onto her side, checking to make sure that her saddle was secure and that her stirrups were properly adjusted. Everything seemed perfectly set for a trip to the castle, and he turned around to face the impatient guards at last.

"Okay, men. Let's move!"

* * *

Link and his companions rode in silence for the most part, occasionally stopping to admire the scenery on their route to the castle. Though Link had been in Hyrule Field many times before, he had never really taken the time to appreciate the expanse of land. With its rolling hills and grassy meadows, it was easily one of the most beautiful places in all of Hyrule.

What Link really found amazing about Hyrule Field was that without it, there would be no partnership or friendship between the different races of people. You had to cross the field to get anywhere from the castle or the town. Without it, the Hylians would never have met the Sheikah, Zoras, or Gorons – and they might not even have known the Kokiri existed. Link shuddered at the very thought. Though he was proud to be Hylian, he still thought of the Kokiri Forest as home. Which was exactly what he had told Zelda when she offered him a home in Castle Town.

This would be his first time going back there since he had rejected that offer. He could almost feel the accusing stares of the residents, asking an unspoken question: _Does the Hero of Time think himself too good to live among us?_ Even though part of Link yearned to be with them, he didn't feel he could live happily in Castle Town. He remembered it from when he was a child, friendly people roaming the streets just enjoying life. But he also remembered it from when Ganon had been in power, filled with darkness and inhabited by re-deads. Though he knew Castle Town would eventually recover, he didn't feel it would ever reach that same level of happiness again. There would always be a cloud of unease settled over the town, like a reminder of the terrible events that had occurred there.

A loud whinny startled Link out of his thoughts, making him grab onto Epona's mane to regain his balance. "Sorry about that," chuckled one of the guards. "Chester here gets pretty excited when he sees Castle Town in the distance. It's like he knows that just beyond the hill he'll get food and water, and a warm place to spend the night."

Link smiled as the guard reached down to pet his horse, a light grey gelding. He was sure if he had to carry a person wearing that much armor all the time, he would get excited about seeing Castle Town as well. "I'm amazed we're so close already. We made really good time."

Both guards nodded in agreement. Hyrule Field could be a very strange place with time, so much so that Link had decided long ago that the goddesses stretch out the length of the field different each time someone enters it. The journey across the field from Kokiri Forest to the castle had taken him anywhere from 3 hours to 12 hours in the past. Today looked to be around a 6 hour day.

Link slyly pulled a carrot out of his pocket, glancing at the guards to make sure neither one was paying attention to him. Carrots were Epona's favorite food, and she would show her appreciation for being given one by running as fast as she could, for a little while anyway. "Here, girl," he whispered, "I know it's your favorite". Holding the carrot in front of her, he straightened in the saddle and looked at the guards. "Race you to the castle!" Epona finished eating the carrot, and they were off. He smiled as he heard the guards trying to catch up to him. Epona needed to run. He needed to feel free. And they all needed to get to the drawbridge before nightfall.

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

The other chapters will be longer than this one, I promise. I really hope you guys give this story at least until Chapter 3 to make up your mind, as that is when Dark shows up. Either way though, thanks for checking out Chapter 1! Your support is much appreciated!

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 2: All Hail the Queen.** Thank you for reading!


	2. All Hail the Queen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hi again, and thanks for choosing to read the second chapter! I published this at the same time as Chapter 1, because I didn't think the first chapter alone was an accurate enough representation of where this story is going.

Dark doesn't show up in this chapter, but don't worry, he will finally make his grand entrance in the next one.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2**

 **All Hail the Queen**

* * *

"How long do we have to keep these smiles plastered on our faces?" Zelda, Princess and soon-to-be Queen of all Hyrule asked. Link gave her a sideways glance, trying not to laugh.

"You tell me, you're the Princess!" he was standing on her left, wearing a brand new green tunic. It was what he considered to be a dress tunic, with gold trim on the edge of the sleeves and at the bottom hem. There was even a small Triforce embroidered on back, underneath the collar. He had gotten it made special for the coronation, but figured he could wear it for any other fancy events he needed to attend in the future.

"Quiet down, children." Impa did not look amused, although she too was wearing a big smile for the growing crowd of people. Her duties as a Sage did not normally permit her to go places aside from the Sacred Realm and the Shadow Temple, but Hylian law dictated that two people connected to the Royal Family had to be with Zelda during the coronation. Because of all the hardships Hyrule had faced, she and Link were the only ones who met the criteria.

However, both of them realized that they were there just as much to protect the Princess as they were instruments of the coronation ceremony. Though Hyrule seemed relatively safe, many of Ganon's minions still roamed free. If anything could pull them out of hiding, it would be this. News of the coronation had flooded even the far corners of Hyrule – even King Zora was in attendance, carried in a makeshift throne by several of his loyal subjects. Link had been forced to stifle his laughter at the sight of the King's tiny legs dangling off the side of the throne. Even now, as he glanced into the crowd, he could feel the mirth rising in him.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Link looked towards the speaker, whom he recognized as the palace scribe. The man's name was Timok, and he had worked for the castle for longer than Link had even been alive. He had two children, and three grandchildren, who were the light of his life. Link had spent many long hours recounting his adventure to him, and last he heard, he was apparently in the process of commissioning artwork to go with the story. Link hoped there was no one out there who felt like drawing him. The last thing he wanted to do was pose for a painting.

"We are here today to honor the Princess Zelda on her journey to become Queen of all Hyrule! She has demonstrated wisdom beyond her years, courage in the face of danger, and more power than Hyrule has ever seen before. These are the attributes valued by our golden goddesses in the chosen protector of the Triforce." Timok produced a small box from behind him, and opened it to reveal the Triforce. It wasn't the real Triforce, of course. Those pieces were still split amongst Zelda, Link, and Ganon, and they probably would be for the rest of their lives. This one was just an imitation – though a well-made one.

"Impa. Sage of Shadow. Protector of the Princess. Do you vouch for Zelda, to be pure of heart and mind, and to be the rightful leader of Hyrule?"

"I do." Impa turned to face the Princess, and got down on one knee. Her expression was both stern and serene, a mix fitting for someone who had been expecting this moment for years. But most of all, her face showed pride for her leader, and her friend – Zelda.

Timok nodded once, and shuffled over to Link. "Link. Hero of Time. Friend of the Princess. Do you vouch for Zelda, to be pure of heart and mind, and to be the rightful leader of Hyrule?"

"I do." Taking his cue from Impa, Link also got down on one knee. He looked up at Zelda, wondering what she thought of all this. She looked rather nervous, her fingers clutching onto the fabric of her dress like her life depended on it. The crowd wouldn't be able to see her knuckles turning white, but Link could. He realized then that she probably had expected to have more time to learn how to be Queen. Her mother had died when Zelda was very young, and her father had died in the initial struggle with Ganon. Since then she had been raised by Impa, who was a guiding voice, but who could not hold a candle to the Princess's father when it came to kingly and queenly matters. And now she was not only expected to be a Queen, but to be the Queen of a broken land in desperate need of a good leader?

There wasn't really any time left for her to question her life and her decisions, though. Link would remember this moment for the rest of his life – the moment that Princess Zelda truly embraced her destiny, and became the Queen of Hyrule not just in title, but in soul. The Triforce was offered to her, and the room fell silent as Zelda regarded each piece before taking the replica in her hands.

"I wish for Hyrule to be safe once again; for the citizens to not be afraid anymore and for the darkness to be put to rest! These are things I can accomplish only as the Queen of Hyrule, with a kingdom united against evil! Good people of Hyrule, do you accept me as your leader?" The speech was as old as time itself, but the way Zelda said it, it didn't sound like a rehearsed script. She poured her heart and soul into the words, and the crowd responded in kind. Hyrule knew that they needed a leader, and there was no better suited for the job than Zelda.

"Then it is done." He lifted a crown up from behind the throne. Impa eyed it with respect; Zelda, with sorrow. A single tear formed in her left eye as the crown was placed on her head, noticed only by Link and Impa. "All hail Zelda, Queen of Hyrule!"

The crowd let out a loud cheer, and started filtering out of the room. Their voices could be heard echoing off the walls, even after they left. "You think they would have stayed a little longer," said Impa, disapproving of the empty space before them.

"Impa. You should be more understanding. We have never let the citizens in the castle before. They are curious to see it and excited to participate in the celebration we have planned for them."

"If you say so." She didn't look convinced, but she wasn't about to argue with Zelda. "But I actually must be going myself. I cannot remain away from the Sacred Realm for so long. Not yet, anyway.

Congratulations on becoming Queen – I will be back to visit as soon as I am free." She bent down to give the new Queen a quick hug, and then, with a respectful nod in Link's direction, she was surrounded by purple light and disappeared back to the Sacred Realm.

"Would you like to join the celebration, Princess? Um, I mean Queen." Link quickly corrected himself. The change in her title was going to take some getting used to.

"Soon." Zelda smiled at him, and removed her crown. "This belonged to my father," she explained. "It has been passed down to each of the rightful leaders of Hyrule for many years now. But…this crown should still belong to him. It should not be mine. Not yet." She got up and placed the crown on the throne, sighing softly. "I find you very curious, Link." The sentence seemed almost like an afterthought.

Link was startled at the change in topic. "Me? Why is that?" He had encountered many people that were curious in him, but it always came as a surprise to him when they mentioned it.

"Because you saved the world, yet you don't seem to want anything for it. I offer you another chance at your childhood, you turn it down. I offer you a home, you turn it down as well. There must be something I could offer you, after all you have done for Hyrule. But you did not do it for a reward. You did it out of a sense of duty and responsibility. That is why I find you curious."

Link pretended to be very interested in the floor. "I appreciate your kindness, but I really don't need any rewards." He didn't bother to mention that between gold rupees he could get whenever he asked from the rich family in Kakariko, whom he had freed from the curse of the spiders, and honor and distinction in all the kingdoms across the land, he could get anything he wanted without too much effort. Taking anything from Zelda seemed almost like stealing. He knew that she had access to money and resources, but many of the people of Hyrule didn't, and he would feel terrible if he took something that could have been of use to someone else.

"You might think that you do not need anything, Link. But everyone needs something. I have been thinking about what that thing might be for you for a long time now, and I think I have finally figured it out. Unfortunately, it is not something I can give you." Zelda traced a pattern on the arm of the throne. In her mind, she was drawing the lines on the map of Hyrule. She was very well traveled for someone so young, and could probably navigate around her kingdom with her eyes closed.

"What's that?" Link felt that he already had everything he needed. He had food to eat and a place to sleep – which was more than most people he had met. To need anything else would be greedy, and greed was very unbecoming of a Hero.

"Happiness." Zelda stared at him, her blue eyes piercing through his soul. He winced at the truth of her statement. She really did hold the Triforce of Wisdom. "You don't have to say anything, Link."

He closed his mouth, cutting off his answer before he had even put it to words. He knew he wasn't happy, but he didn't feel particularly unhappy either. It was more that he felt…unfulfilled. He missed having something to do, and having someone to do it for. With the end of his journey came the end of his usefulness, and he still hadn't decided what direction his life should go in.

"You might have already saved the world, but that does not mean you no longer have a purpose here – and no, I am not talking about stories and paintings!" It was almost like she could read his mind. Zelda was very familiar with Link's sessions with the palace scribe, and she knew of his distaste for calling unnecessary attention to himself. "Your duties as a Hero are never truly over, you know. Hyrule will always need one. And if you still would like to be a Hero – Hyrule still needs you."

Link nodded thoughtfully. Being a Hero was a part of his identity, by this point. He realized that he couldn't just give it up – he would forever act and think for Hyrule first, and for himself second. "What does Hyrule need me to do?"

The prompted Zelda to smile. She knew that Link would be willing to help. "I have been thinking about it for a while, and I would like to send you on another mission." Zelda had requested copies of Link's adventure, and poured over them during what little free time she had. She had some concerns not only about her kingdom, but neighboring ones as well – and she had noticed a missing piece to the puzzle of his journey, one that she thought might be locked away in the royal safe. But she had to be sure. "How familiar are you with the area southeast of Hyrule Field?"

Link thought for a moment. "Not very," he admitted. "I mean, there doesn't seem to be anything there to be familiar with. There's a great expanse of rock, and that's it." The area Zelda was referring to was between Lake Hylia and the Kokiri Forest, one of the few places Link didn't frequently have to go during his journey.

Zelda thought quickly, narrowing down her possible conversation topics about that area to something she remembered reading. "You reported that there were three Big Poes located around that area – all of which you successfully captured. You know what Big Poes are, of course."

"Large spirits of concentrated hatred." That was what the man…thing…at the ghost shop had said, and though he was a bit creepy, there was no reason to doubt his expertise on the subject of Poes.

"Yes, they are." Zelda smiled at him encouragingly, and Link wondered if she thought there were more Big Poes to find over there. He was fairly sure he had captured all of them, but he wasn't about to argue with the Queen. "What concerns me is where that hatred comes from."

"Ganon generated a lot of hatred, coming from the people and rising up from the land itself." That was what Link had always felt caused the Big Poes to appear in Hyrule. They were never there before Ganon took over, after all, and there had been none since he was locked away.

"Yes, but." Zelda sighed, and thought about how she could explain this. It was too big a risk for her to reveal her true thoughts to even Link, but there had to be a way she could ask him for help without outright lying to him or ordering him to do something senseless. "If there was enough hatred in one area of the land for three Big Poes, would it not stand to reason that there is something else there? Perhaps something that could generate a lot of energy?" She didn't know much about how Big Poes were actually created, but it sounded reasonable to her. "Link, I am afraid there may be something hidden in that expanse of rock you mentioned. If anyone ever could find something there, I know you could."

A promise was on the tip of his tongue, daring him to bind himself to this mission. But he had learned long ago not to make promises to people. Sometimes they could be hard to keep. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something she wasn't telling him though, something important about what he may find there - and he wanted very much to know what it was. "It would be my honor to go down and take a look, even if I can't find anything."

She clapped her hands girlishly in front of her, reminding Link of the day they met. She wore that same smile on her face and had that same look in her eyes eight years ago, when he said he would help her find the Spiritual Stones. She might be the Queen, but she was still a person with thoughts and feelings, something that Link tried to remain aware of. "Wonderful! I knew I could count on you!"

Link gave her a courteous smile and bowed. "Happy to be of service!" He held out his arm to help the Queen off the dais. "Now, shall we join the celebration?"

* * *

Link was saddling Epona up for his journey when she snorted and moved. "What's up?" he asked her. "Hear something?" Then he heard it himself – a rustling noise by the door.

"Well, well. It seems you're going out on another adventure, Mr. Hero!" A palace guard entered the stable, and Link relaxed instantly.

"Geran!" Link greeted him warmly, gripping the guard's hand in a friendly gesture. When Link was younger, Geran had been guarding the gate to Death Mountain in Kakariko Village. Now he was one of the Queen's personal guards. Link had recommended him for the job, knowing that Geran could stay closer to his family if he worked in Castle Town.

"I'm so glad I caught you," Geran said, after they had exchanged pleasantries. "The Queen wanted you to have this." He pulled out a faintly glowing stone and handed it to Link. There was a black rope attached to it. Link looked at it curiously, feeling the magic power emanating from it.

"It's a speaking stone," Geran supplied helpfully. "An adaption of the Gossip Stones that are all over Hyrule. The Gossip Stones remember and store the voices and words of people, though not many can understand it. The old witch in Kakariko found one that had been blasted apart by magic, and adapted it so that anyone could use it."

"How does it work?" Link put the rope around his neck, tucking the stone under his shirt. It felt cold against his chest, and he heard the edges of faint whispering. The voices were strong enough to make him feel a bit weak in the knees. This definitely was no ordinary piece of rock.

"Each speaking stone made has a match, held by another person. The match to this one is held by Zelda herself. When you speak into it, the stone will capture your words. The matching stone will also capture your words, and speak them out to whoever is holding it. It works in reverse as well. This way, you and Zelda can communicate while you are gone."

"There are more of these?" Link asked, turning his head rapidly from side to side as he tried to follow the pattern of the whispers. Aware that he was starting to look like a fool, he willed himself to stop. Geran might have noticed, but if so, he pretended that he hadn't seen anything.

"Only a couple. They're under lock and key in the royal safe. You and Zelda will be the first people to try actually using one. She said that you might feel a little strange for a while after you put it on. I didn't feel anything, though." He shrugged, and glanced around the stables to give Link a small amount of privacy as he processed this information.

Of course Geran couldn't feel anything. He didn't have any magic. Zelda did, though. And Link did as well – something that he was still trying to get used to. The whispers must be a residual trace of the voices that this particular Gossip Stone had held. Link, having once worn the Mask of Truth, was one of the few people in Hyrule who could both hear and understand the Gossip Stones. He almost felt like this one was trying to tell him something important. But it was probably nothing. He just had to keep telling himself that.

"Thank you, Geran. Tell Zelda that the speaking stone is in good hands." He dug into his wallet and pulled out several blue rupees, reaching out and placing them in the older man's hand. "And have a drink on me."

* * *

Only a short while later, Link had finally left Castle Town. He felt the worry from the Queen nag at him as he kept riding. He kept wondering what Zelda thought he might find in southeast Hyrule. What if it was people? He knew that Ganon was fully capable of trapping people in unusual places, something he had seen first-hand in the Fire Temple. It took him hours to free all the Gorons, and after he had freed the temple from evil more still had run out the door, claiming to have been trapped in hidden cells. He wondered how many people he would find, if there were any at all, and how they could even survive inside a solid wall of rock. It was definitely a concern to him that if he did manage to stumble across people, he might already be too late. He tried to push the thoughts out of his head. He was a Hero, and Heroes can't afford the luxury of worrying about things. Worry can cause doubt, and doubt can cause failure. Link would hate to fail at a task just because he was worried about performing it.

He would have the answers soon, anyway. Holding the lens of truth in one hand, and Epona's reins in the other, he made his way across all Hyrule Field and turned as if he was going down to the lake. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to find his way past the barrier in the southeast, but he hoped the solid rock wall was just an illusion. He didn't want to destroy the landscape, if he could help it. Hyrule already was the victim of so much destruction; if he could do his part to keep one little bit of beauty intact, then he would.

He admired that beauty now: the rolling hills of Hyrule Field, the ever-ominous Death Mountain, Lon-Lon Ranch, and of course Hyrule Castle itself. Even when everything else around it was changing, the land of Hyrule itself was timeless. Every stone, every blade of grass was a testament to what had happened here long ago, and what would happen here in the future.

The future was always a touchy subject with Link. As the Hero of Time, he was constantly being treated like a fortuneteller. No one seemed to understand that time travel was too dangerous to do all the time. That was why when Zelda offered to bring him back to his own time, he refused. He wasn't sure what would have happened if he had gone back – maybe everything he had ever done and everyone he knew from his adult life would disappear into nothingness. Or worse yet, maybe they would continue on living without him, leaving them without any protection or defense should something happen. Either way, neither one of these options felt acceptable to him.

Thinking about time travel always left him feeling an interesting mix of annoyance and helplessness, and he slammed his hand against the rock wall to his left in frustration. The lens of truth fell out of his open hand as he did so, and he cursed as he bent over to pick it up. Epona neighed at him, scolding him for his choice of language, but he was more focused on a small sound coming from the rocks. "Quiet, please." he stroked Epona to calm her down, and bent his head closer to the rocks to listen.

The sound appeared to be gone, though. All he could hear was a small breeze rustling through the trees and grass. He shook his head in disappointment and pocketed the lens of truth. He knew he would have to try and recreate the noise. It could be a clue to getting beyond the wall. Leaning in towards the wall again, he smacked his hand against it. Just like before, he heard a small noise coming from within the rocks. It almost sounded like they were breaking apart, and the sound seemed to be traveling. Leaning in close to the wall, he continued tapping on the rocks and following the sound until he came to a small pile of gravel on the ground in front of him.

"Looks like this is the place!" he pulled out the lens of truth again, and examined the wall in front of him. During the short amount of time Link had been using the magic-enhanced lens, he had already discovered it had other uses aside from seeing through illusions. It was able to see through treasure chests, and occasionally he had used it to help him find things. Now, he was hoping it would help him find the weak point in the wall. He didn't have to look far, though – he could see numerous cracks in the wall as soon as he put the lens of truth to his eye, complete with a small hole in the middle.

He removed the lens of truth, and saw only a solid wall again. He knew he would have to blow it up, and he felt distinctly better knowing that no matter what he did to it, the rest of the world would continue to only see the unmarred illusion. He wrestled a bombchu out of one of his bags, and stepped backwards. Though Link could throw bombs far, he was unable to throw them very high. Bombchus, on the other hand, had a much greater reach – as long as they were set down properly.

He pulled out the lens once more, positioning himself directly in front of the hole. He set the bombchu gently down on the ground, and gently pulled on its tail. The nice thing about bombchus was that they had the ability to light themselves, unlike bombs. He let go, and watched its progress as it traveled up the wall. Bombchus move fast, and it had located and lodged itself in the hole very quickly. Link dropped down and lay flat on the ground, preparing for the explosion.

There was nothing flashy or exciting about the destruction of the wall, though. Rather than the bits of rock shooting out at him, they all just fell to the ground. Using the lens of truth, Link was able to see a new addition to the landscape – a small wooden door, just big enough for him to walk through. He walked up to it, and tried the handle. To his surprise, it opened, squeaking with age and rust that told Link this door hadn't been used in a very long time.

"Epona. I have to go inside, and you can't come with me." He had this conversation with her many times before, and knew that she would stay outside and wait for him. No matter how long it took him to explore a new place, she was always where he had left her when he returned. "I'll try not to take too long. If you need anything while I'm gone, Lon Lon Ranch is that way." He pointed behind him, and he could swear he saw Epona nod her head. He turned his attention to the packs that she carried. He never liked to take too many items with him, but at the same time he didn't want to have to continually retrieve the ones that he needed. He started with the smaller items, and then worked his way up to larger ones, fitting things in his pockets and attaching things to his belt. The items were all virtually invisible once attached, but he knew that they were there and it made him feel much safer.

With a last pat on the head for Epona, he wrenched the door open the rest of the way, and walked inside. He found himself in a narrow rectangular room – or a wide hallway, depending on how you looked at it – that had been carved entirely out of rock. He walked forward, running his hand over the smooth walls wondering who would take the time to build such a masterpiece and then block it off from the world.

It was only after he had walked several feet away from the door that he faintly heard the distinctive groan of ancient hinges. He turned around, and stared at the rapidly fading spot of light. He pulled out his longshot in an attempt to grab onto the handle, but it was too late. The door had shut behind him, leaving him in complete and total darkness.

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 3: The Dark of Night.** Thank you for reading!

Provided this story is well-received, I plan to have Chapter 3 ready for next week. Hopefully I'll be on a one-week upload schedule, but we'll see! Just like Link, I don't like making promises that I'm not sure I can keep.


	3. The Dark of Night

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey guys! I'm still figuring out what update schedule works best for me, so you can have this chapter a little early. I'm really encouraged by the number of views this story has had, and of course, my first review! Thank you so, so much, kind reviewer. You made my week, really!

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3**

 **The Dark Of Night**

* * *

Darkness had never been Link's friend. When he was five years old, he had woken up on a cloudy night and could not see any stars outside. He was convinced the goddesses had extinguished the sky, and cried and cried, but he had no mother or father, and no fairy companion, to comfort him. In the end it was Saria who had come to his aid, telling him that the stars needed to sleep too. Though his fear had temporarily been quelled, it had only increased in the past couple of years – now, instead of just imagining the bad things that could happen in the dark, he knew all too well what could be lurking there.

However, none of those things seemed to be around, at least at the moment. Most of the monsters Link knew of made distinctive sounds, and those that didn't were not in the habit of hiding in dark areas. His biggest concern at this point was falling into traps. A hole in the floor never made noise, and although he carried the lens of truth, even its penetrating gaze could not cut through darkness.

Link lifted up his left foot, gently feeling the floor in front of him before setting it down. After falling down several times when exploring the bottom of the well in Kakariko, he had decided this was the best way to avoid holes that you couldn't see. After a while, he realized that he must have left the first room he was in, and entered a narrow hallway. Stretching out his arms, he could feel the walls on either side of him. He kept feeling the edges of possible doorways, or perhaps they were just irregularities in the wall, but they were all blocked with stone. The only way he could go was forward.

He wasn't sure how long he had been carefully walking through the hallway, when he felt it widen. He could only assume that it was an opening to a larger space, and so, hugging the left wall, he continued to move forward. As he felt the right side of the wall get further and further away, he grew more confident, and strayed from the sides. After all, his eyes were beginning to get adjusted to the pitch black surrounding him, and he was sure there wouldn't be anything waiting to jump out at him from the shadows.

No sooner had he finished his speculation than his foot ran into something, and as the unknown object rattled at the touch he thought he heard quiet laughter coming from another part of the room. He froze, caught in the battle between fight and flight as he tried to regain control of his emotions. Fight won, and he pulled out his bow to shoot at whatever he had touched. His bow was powered by fairies, and with it he had the ability to shoot magical arrows. Sensing his intention as soon as he touched it, his bow turned his arrow into a light arrow, considerably brightening the room. His fear quickly turned to embarrassment as he realized the object he touched was a clay pot. He loosed the arrow, watching the shards of pottery go flying in every direction. After the arrow had touched the ground, still gently glowing, he noticed a red rupee glittering amongst the wreckage. He picked it up and admired it. It wasn't quite enough compensation to make up for his lost pride, but it would have to do.

"The first visitor I get in over a year, and you turn out to be a thief? What a shame." Link jumped in surprise and dropped the rupee. He stared in the direction of the voice, for the first time noticing a figure standing in a corner of the room. He wasn't able to make out any specific details, but the unknown entity certainly didn't look or sound like a monster.

"Sorry, I didn't know." He felt calmer after deciding that the figure looked more Hylian than anything else, and casually kicked the rupee in its direction, like he had meant to drop it.

The figure grunted in response. In one swift movement, he – Link assumed it had to be a "he", from the voice – darted forward and picked up the rupee, before disappearing back into the darkness. If it hadn't been for the sound of the rupee dropping again, presumably into another pot, he could have believed he was alone in the cave once more.

Link dashed towards his light arrow, picking it up and holding it out in front of him. The light didn't spread very far, but it was more helpful at eye level than on the ground. Unfortunately all he saw around him was a few more pots; he couldn't see a door, or even a switch or block that he could move to make one appear.

"What's wrong? Can't see?" Rather than conveying sympathy, the voice seemed to be mocking him. Link chose not to reply, and was eventually rewarded with a loud sigh. "There are plenty of torches in here. If you can find them, you can light them."

He crept forward, looking for one of the torches. Places such as this were generally full of them; he wouldn't be surprised if there was at least one. But he was suspicious of his apparent companion in the shadows – if there were torches here, why hadn't he lit them? The answer was simple – he obviously could see well in the dark. Still, he couldn't help but feel relieved when the light fell on a torch, revealing its black metal frame and wick sticking up from the center.

As he walked closer to the torch, he caught the distinct "torch smell" and wrinkled his nose. It was a hard scent to describe – it certainly wasn't the most pleasant scent in the world, but it was never so terrible that Link was forced to cover his nose. This particular torch smelled a little musty, like it hadn't been lit in some time. An unlit torch always seemed incomplete somehow – like it needed a flame to bring it to life.

Link bent down on one knee, slamming his hand to the ground. Din's Fire was undoubtedly his most useful magic spell, but it always required enough force to be generated to push the flames outward. They rose up around him, spreading in all directions. Three torches lit up due to his efforts, and he felt instantly comforted by the increased amount of light and warmth in the area.

"So. You have magic." Link looked up to finally see the speaker in full light, and gasped in surprise. He saw now that there were more torches than just the three he had lit, and that they created a semi-circle around a small tree, slightly bent over with the weight of troubles long forgotten by the people of the world. It seemed familiar somehow, like he had seen this tree or an identical one somewhere during his travels over Hyrule.

"I wasn't sure, when I saw your bow." The man continued to speak, his voice sounding as shadowy as the far edges of the room appeared now. "Weapons and other items can be imbued with magical qualities. But you have magic yourself. I'm surprised that you didn't feel your bow simply itch to plunge an arrow into my chest."

"Don't be so sure that I didn't." He proudly held his bow and drew another arrow. This one was brighter than the last one, and the glaring light made the stranger cover his eyes with a strangled noise that could only be interpreted as pain. Link took the opportunity to look him over. He didn't look like much of a threat – actually, he looked a little like Link himself. His outfit was entirely black, but mirrored Link's own in style. He wore a hat that looked almost too big for him, jammed far forward on his head to prevent it from falling off. He looked to be in desperate need of a haircut – his hair was long and dark, falling over his face like a set of curtains. His arms were bare – Link could tell that the tunic once had sleeves, but they had been torn off. He was not wearing another shirt under it; nor was he wearing gloves of any kind. His breeches had several small tears in them, and were tucked into scuffed boots. Next to his dark and dirty clothing, his skin seemed extremely pale in comparison, and between that and his reaction to the light arrow Link begin to wonder if he had ever been outside this cave before.

Link didn't recognize his growing feeling of pity until his bow reacted to his feelings, lowering the light from the arrow until it was but a dull glow. He felt more ridiculous than threatening, holding an unlit arrow, so with a short sigh he returned it to his quiver and slung his bow over his shoulder. "It's okay. You can look now." He hoped that his kindness would not prove to be in error.

The stranger removed his hand from his face, but rather than looking relieved, he looked troubled. He put his hand by his side and curled it into a fist. "Nothing will ever be okay." When Link didn't respond, he continued to speak. "Do you know what this place is? Many years ago, it was called the Temple of Light. Now, it exists between worlds – worlds to which I will never belong. Light is my enemy, and it has trapped me here for all time."

They locked eyes, and Link instinctively took a few steps backwards. The last time he had stared into such deep red eyes, they had changed into blue in front of him as Sheik was revealed to be Princess Zelda. "Light is your enemy?" He found it hard to believe that Rauru, the Sage of Light, would be anyone's enemy. He must have been referring to the element itself – or maybe to the Temple. "But that would make you Dark."

"That's what they call me." He sounded bitter over that, and Link wondered if Dark was really his name or just a nickname that he had given himself. "You, of course, need no introduction. I've been wondering if I would ever see you again, and here you are."

Had he really been recognized as being one of the Heroes from the legends? He looked himself over, seeking anything that would reveal his true identity. He carried several indicators that he associated with the Royal Family – namely the Hylian shield and the Master Sword. Despite this, Link found it hard to believe that the Master Sword could be so easily recognized when strapped to his back, and he certainly wasn't the only person in Hyrule that carried a Hylian shield. Then he focused on the word _again_. He was sure that they had never come face to face before. He would remember eyes like that. "How do you know me? Have we met?"

"And here I thought you might have recognized me. I'm hurt." Dark threw his head back in forced laughter, and just as suddenly as the sound had started it stopped. "We fought in this very spot a while back. Don't you remember? For every time I swung my sword, you mirrored me. For every step that I took, you followed me." Link could feel his stomach lurching. It did sound familiar to him. "It can't have been a very satisfying fight for you – you put in all that effort to copy my every move, only to have it end in a draw. And now, I suppose you're here for a rematch." He drew his sword, a blade as black as his clothing, and waited for Link to do the same.

Link, however, was not drawing his sword out in response. He was staring behind Dark, at the tree. He remembered where he had seen it now. He had seen it in the Water Temple, when he turned away from a barred door in a room that seemingly had no secrets. But there had been a tree in the center of the room, and a figure was waiting near it. He also remembered a fight with this figure, where it seemed he could make no winning move. Eventually the figure had fallen through the floor, never to rise again. He had not thought about the fight in a long time. He tried his best not to recall any of the things he had been put through during his bout as the Hero of Time. But this tree now seemed to be calling out to him, asking him to remember. Without realizing what he was doing, he began walking towards it.

He reached out his hand and placed it on the trunk of the tree, feeling a slight breeze ruffle his hair as he did so. Magic always moved the air, even when there was no wind to speak of. There was a brief moment of discomfort, and Link closed his eyes at the sharp sensation. When he opened them again, he knew something was different. He was still in the cave, but he was somewhere else too. A room with a small covering of water on the floor and white fog in the distance. It was both tranquil and terrifying at the same time, and he knew exactly what it was – the Water Temple.

He shrunk back from the expanse before him, feeling as small and insignificant as he did the first time he entered the Room of Illusions. Originally created by the Zoras, they had intended this room to be a home away from home for their Sage and any visiting royalty. Ganondorf's twisted sense of humor had later turned this room into a prison, leaving an ambassador of his own to greet any visitors – a shadow that bore a surprising resemblance to Link.

Remembering the shadow reminded him that he was not alone in the temple - Dark was still with him, watching him. He could sense his presence, even through the illusion. Come to think of it, the shadow from the Water Temple looked a lot more like Dark than him. And he seemed to know details about the fight that ensued there, details he couldn't possibly have unless he participated in it. All of this clicked in Link's head at once, and a sudden burst of anger clouded his thoughts.

"You want a rematch? You've got one," he snarled, reaching his hand behind him to grab his sword. On some level, Link was aware that this aggression was very uncharacteristic for him, but he pushed it back as he rushed at Dark. The image of the Water Temple faded away as he stepped further and further from the tree, and before long all he could see surrounding him was the dank walls of the cave and the shadowy patterns over them, created from the lit torches.

Dark had watched the whole scene play out with wide eyes, the tip of his sword slowly dropping closer to the ground with every passing second. Now, however, he held his sword upright in front of him, preparing to defend himself. Dark considered himself to be an excellent swordsman, although he preferred hand to hand combat. He had learned how to fight at a young age, and had loved it as long as he could remember. He could always feel a battle with his entire being, which is how he sensed that even before Link's sword crashed into his, the shifting of the two blades would force extra weight on his wrists. He bent his knees before the impact, hoping he could depend on his full body weight, and not just his wrists alone, to push upwards on Link's blade.

What he hadn't counted on was Link's ability to switch tactics. Initially Link had lunged at him, sword raised as if to split him down the middle. He stopped short just an inch away from his outstretched sword, twisting his blade horizontally and snaking it past his defense. Dark barely had time to react. He jumped backwards, twisting around as Link rolled behind him.

The fight wore on for what seemed like hours to Dark, swords clashing together and echoing off the walls. He continued attacking and defending until his legs felt too weak to support him and his hand felt almost completely numb. He changed his grip on his sword, moving it from his left hand to his right – not the way he would typically choose to fight a left-handed opponent.

When Dark reflected on this fight later, he would remember a sharp pain in his right side as he passed over his sword, and the sound of the wind rushing past his ears as he fell to the ground. He would think about seeing the blood on his hand when he clutched at the pain, and the sharp clang of his sword as it, too, fell. He wouldn't remember Link standing there dazed and confused as the spell that had seemingly been on him was lifted, or the tormented expression on his face when he realized what he had done. He would never recall the clinking of bottles as Link fiddled with his belt, or the triumphant cry when he had found what he was looking for. But the one thing that would be forever in Dark's memory from this point forward was the image of Link, his blond hair hanging down in front of his face, a single tear in his eye, and a glowing pink fairy in his hand. 

* * *

An hour had passed by the time Dark woke up, confused and disoriented from his ordeal. He sat up with a start, pressing his hand to his side and groaning in agony. It was all coming back to him now - the fight, his failure, and the pain he felt because of it.

"Easy there." Link was sitting next to Dark, polishing his blade as if to cleanse it from the evil act it participated in. "I may have been able to heal your wound, but your body will take a while longer to recover."

"Don't you have anything else to say?" Dark growled in annoyance. He had been on his own for far too long to be left feeling this helpless.

"Yes." Link pointed over towards the tree. "Don't touch that. It plays tricks on your mind and makes you think and act differently than you usually would." He looked over at Dark, tired blue eyes meeting angry red ones. "I'm sorry. I would never normally do something like that."

Link had always prided himself on his gentle nature. People were not afraid of him, and animals would willingly run up to him. He did routinely attack and sometimes kill monsters as part of his duties as a Hero – but they were monsters. Strange, unruly creatures that did everything in their power to hurt the innocent. Sometimes he felt regret for taking a life. But sometimes, it felt right. Sometimes he was helping the world more by killing a monster than letting it live. But Dark was not a monster, and it went against everything Link stood for to kill him – or try to, in this case.

"Yeah, yeah." Dark had obviously been looking for an apology, but now that he had one he didn't really want to hear it. He twisted his body, examining himself for any additional injuries before jumping to his feet. He winced in pain, but resisted the urge to lay back down. "Do you think you could help me with something?"

Link blinked in surprise. "I tried to kill you." His words were tinged with both regret at his actions and curiosity on what could be so important as to ask for his aid.

"And you did a damn good job of it, too. Just not good enough." His tone sounded almost proud, but his eyes betrayed his feelings of intense distrust for the man in front of him.

"I'm listening." Link laid his sword to the side, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.

"I'm looking for something," Dark explained. "Something that I haven't been able to find on my own. With your help, I might have more success." It looked like it was hard for him to admit that he needed assistance.

Link stood up, narrowing his eyes at Dark. "What are you looking for?" He had felt like Zelda wasn't telling him about something important, and he couldn't help but wonder if that important thing and this important thing were actually one in the same.

"None of your business," Dark snapped at him. "Are you going to help or not?"

Link studied the irritated expression on Dark's face. He owed him for what had just happened. Besides, the Hero in him had a hard time resisting the opportunity to help someone. "Yes, I will help you." Dark nodded at him, like he had expected him to say that all along. "But first of all, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Regardless of what happened, it was never my intention to harm you – not now, not during our fight, and not any time before then either. So, hi! Nice to meet you. My name is Link."

He stuck out his hand and waited for the other man to shake it. Dark stared cautiously at Link's hand before taking it in his own. He surprised Link with his handshake; though his hands were clammy and rather bony, he had a firm grip with serious strength behind it. "Link, huh? That's a strange name."

"No stranger than yours, Dark." Link had stopped caring about what others thought of his name long ago. "Now, let me tell you a little something about me. I came here on a mission -" He was interrupted by Dark's sudden laughter.

"A mission? What do you think you are, some kind of Hero?" He smirked at Link, seemingly not perturbed in the slightest by the serious expression on Link's face.

"Yes." Link mustered up as much authority to put behind his voice as he could. "I traveled a long way to get here, and since I'm here I might as well explore a little. But without knowing my way around, and with limited light, I'm likely to get lost. Having someone that knows their way around would be a great help to me. Since I've already agreed to help you - do you think you could help me?"

Dark stared at Link with an intensity that he found to be rather uncomfortable. If Link needed him for something, he wasn't going to be likely to hurt him. That in itself made it worthwhile to agree to guide him around. "You've got yourself a deal." He started walking towards one of the hidden doorways in the room, not wanting to waste any time. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

Link didn't know what to make of Dark. It was odd enough to find a whole temple hidden behind something he had thought was solid rock, but it was even more unusual to find a mysterious man there, both a prisoner and not according to his own words. His pale but dirty skin and his black hair and clothing gave him an almost shadowy appearance. And then there were his eyes, those deep swirling vortexes of red that seemed to stare straight into his soul. Quite frankly, he found everything about him to be rather unnerving.

What was most unsettling was how Dark seemed to know him, even though they had never met before. He found it difficult to believe that the shadow he had contested against in the Water Temple was the same person that he was now following blindly down a hallway. Dark had battled defensively, while the shadow had always been on the offensive. He also had a distinctive fighting style, one that Link wasn't familiar with, and knew he hadn't battled against before. At the same time, he couldn't ignore what he had seen - a tree that was extremely similar to the one from the Water Temple, and the image of the Room of Illusions that came to his mind when he touched it.

Then, there was that cloud of anger that seemed to settle over him as soon as he had approached the tree. He knew of only one thing that could alter emotional responses, and that was black magic. He had seen it performed on Nabooru before, by the twin witches Koume and Kotake, and he knew of its power. If there was black magic attached to the tree, and Dark was near the tree in the Temple of Light at the same time that Link was near the tree in the Water Temple, it could theoretically have been possible for them to battle illusions of each other. But that possibility almost seemed to create more questions than it answered.

Dark, on the other hand, was concerned only with who Link was, and why he was here. The first time he had ever seen him, he had appeared as a white translucent figure by the tree. Convinced that he was a challenger sent by the temple and those who watched over it - a group he collectively referred to as "Light" - he had fought his hardest against him, only to fight his own feelings of disappointment later when nothing had changed for him.

Seeing Link again, and fighting him again, he knew that his initial assumption had been wrong. Despite his claim that he was on an exploratory mission, it was obvious that he had no idea what the Temple of Light was. It was almost as if he had stumbled in here on accident. But there were no true accidents - he had to believe that everything happened for a reason. It was his last shred of optimism left, the one positive thing that even these hopeless years in the temple hadn't beaten out of him. It almost made him wonder if someone had sent Link to this area to look for him. But there wouldn't be anyone trying to find him now. Not after all this time.

"Ouch!" Dark heard a loud _thwack_ as Link bumped into something, and several smaller _thumps_ as he hopped on one foot. He sighed theatrically, turning around to see what Link had walked into. It was a medium sized treasure chest, nestled up against the side of the wall. Dark, walking in the middle of the hallway, hadn't even been anywhere close to it. Link must have been clinging to the wall as he followed him.

"You should really look to see where you're going," he drawled, watching Link feel around carefully to see what he had hit.

"Well maybe, if someone turned on some lights in here, I would be able to," he retorted grumpily, finally placing his hands on the treasure chest. Obviously recognizing what it was, he opened it and felt around inside. "Hey, it's empty!" Link couldn't help but feel a bit cheated.

"Looking for this?" an amused Dark pulled a crumpled up piece of paper out of his pocket, waving it in front of Link's face. He pulled it backwards just as Link reached for it, his hands closing desperately on empty air. "I found and emptied that thing ages ago. There are a couple in other rooms, too – also empty now, I assure you." He tucked the paper back in his pocket.

"Is that a map?" Link asked, the annoyance evident in his voice. He was used to collecting objects from temples, and was surprised at how much it bothered him to not be keeping something from this one.

"What does it matter? You wouldn't be able to see it anyway." A wide grin spread over his face at the irritated _huff_ that came from Link. Pushing his buttons was kind of fun.

"I know it's a map." Link decided not to press the issue. Dark did have a point, after all. "It wouldn't hurt you to look at it, though – are you sure we're not lost?" Even though it had only been approximately thirty minutes, Link had already decided he didn't like having a tour guide. There had been lots of twists and turns, and at times Dark had even turned around and pushed him back the way they had come.

"I'm sure." Link heard the distinctive shuffling of Dark's feet moving away from him, and he crossed his arms, walking after him as quickly as he dared. "In fact…" the shuffling noise stopped, and Link stopped abruptly so he wouldn't bump into him.

"Get over here." Dark commanded, turning around to face the wall to his left. He reached forward, attempting to touch the wall but feeling only empty space in front of him. He felt Link approaching from the left, and stepped aside, putting his hand out and shoving Link forward. "I believe we've found the next room."

Link had braced himself to hit the wall from the moment Dark grabbed him, bringing his arms forward to protect his body and turning his head sharply to the left, away from Dark. But the impact never came. As he opened his eyes and uncurled his body, he noticed he was standing in another room entirely – one that was already filled with gentle torchlight, emanating from a structure along the wall to the right.

"Did I scare you?" Dark stuck his head through the illusion over the entrance to the room. Link tried not to grimace at the sight of Dark's face floating in the middle of a solid sheet of rock.

"Not at all." Link tried to sound cool, calm, and collected, but he was sure his voice was shaking from the sudden adrenaline rush. "Come over here and look at that." He pointed at the torches, lined up around a platform made of wood. He could only recall seeing something like this once before in his life, and he found it fascinating that there was one here.

"I see it." Dark walked over and stood next to Link, crossing his arms angrily. "What's so exciting about some torches and a piece of wood?" His eyes narrowed and he turned to glare at Link. "Don't tell me you're thinking about lighting it on fire."

Link rolled his eyes. It seemed that all Dark thought about was destroying things – first their potential friendship, then Link's peace of mind, and now the only way Link could see out of this room. "No. It's an elevator. It should bring us either to the floor above or below this one…I could tell you more if I had the map." Link couldn't help but smile at the look on Dark's face.

"That can bring us somewhere different?" Dark reached in his pocket for the map, opening it and twisting it around with a confused look on his face before handing it to Link. "Fine, take it. I don't need it anyway."

Link eagerly grabbed the map, his face falling as he reviewed it. It seemed to be in bad condition, with torn edges and slightly smudged ink. Not to mention how rumpled the paper had become, sitting in Dark's pocket. "This isn't a very helpful map," he said, shoving it back at Dark. "You can have it back. I'm not even sure it belongs to this temple."

Dark chuckled, taking the map back once more. "If I thought it would be helpful, I wouldn't have handed it to you."

Link shook his head at Dark's comment, and begin walking towards the elevator. Instead of getting on it, he turned to face the wall, and pulled out his bow. He had caught sight of a glint of gold nestled into the wall as he walked by, and that could mean only one thing. There was a hidden entrance over there.

"What are you doing?" Dark cried, ignoring the potential danger of the bow as he ran towards Link. "I've already gone this way; we aren't going to find anything there!" It was obvious that he was eager to explore the new area that the elevator promised him.

"We can take the elevator after we're done with this floor," Link replied, putting down his bow so he didn't loose an arrow at Dark on accident. "I think it's a good idea to explore everywhere, even places you've already looked on your own."

"But we aren't going to find anything there!" His voice rose higher the closer he looked at Link's determined expression. "Great," he said, slumping against the wall. "I'm going to be stuck here forever."

"That's exactly the sort of attitude that will keep you here forever." Link looked pointedly at him. Taking the time to re-evaluate areas would not just be to Link's benefit, but potentially to Dark's benefit as well. For all Link knew, the thing Dark was seeking could be hidden right under their noses.

"Fine," he said gruffly, striding towards the hidden entryway. "But you don't need your bow to open this." He balled his hand into a fist, and smashed it against the golden eye. A panel of stone rolled backwards in response, revealing an entrance. Dark stood at the left hand side, swept into a mock bow with his hand gesturing towards the area. "After you."

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 4: Helping Hands**. Thank you for reading!


	4. Helping Hands

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Being sick is the WORST. I've been sick for a week now. And I developed an allergy to the antibiotics the doctor gave me. Good news though; more writing more often! Bad news; shorter chapters. This is one of the short ones. But hopefully you enjoy it anyway!

Thank you for the follows and favorites! You guys are the best.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4**

 **Helping Hands**

* * *

Link hated to admit it, but Dark had possibly been right about the rooms behind the hidden doorway in the elevator room. There had been several more dark hallways to crawl through, opening up to small rooms with surprisingly high ceilings. The main source of light in these rooms came from creatures that Dark called _Chu Chus_ , which resembled blobs of jelly. At first glance, Link had thought their bodies glowed in the dark, but he soon realized their radiance was caused by a field of electricity they were able to generate at will. Aside from the electricity they didn't seem to be dangerous, but Link wasn't in the mood to get close enough to find out.

As promised, they had encountered several more empty treasure chests. Link knew that Dark wasn't carrying everything he had taken on him, but he surmised that if he were to look a little closer around the room with the tree, he would find it all. The most interesting empty treasure chest had been located in the third room they encountered. It was a large chest, one that was already open when they entered the room. It rested on a pedestal in the center of the room that had ancient Hylian characters inscribed on it. Dark claimed that this one had been empty when he found it, and his reluctance to admit it told Link it was true. Unlike most treasure chests, this one was not meant to have something taken out of it. It was meant to have something put in it. If only he knew what that something was, he felt he would have been able to unlock the secrets of the temple - or at the very least, of that room.

And now, reflecting on the things, or lack thereof, they had found, they were both standing on the elevator as it carried them to the floor below. Although it initially had reminded him vaguely of the elevator in the Forest Temple, but with a torch attached to every corner of the structure rather than simply surrounding it, this particular elevator operated in a different way. Despite jumping on it, changing the order of the torches, examining the another hidden switch, and simply begging it to move, the elevator stood still. Finally, though, while standing on the structure and looking up in anguish, Link spotted a small, black circle on the roof of the elevator; a second slab of wood supported by four poles. Reaching up to touch it had resulted in it falling off, revealing a small torch that needed to be lit in order for the elevator to move. Considering the amount of effort Link had to put into locating that, he wasn't surprised that Dark hadn't realized that the elevator had any function beyond being a decoration.

As they descended to the next level, Link tried hard not to think about the flickering torchlight above them, or how the elevator would most likely dump them to the ground as quickly as possible should that light be blown out by the sudden increase in airflow caused by the elevator's movement. Instead, he chose to focus on Dark's hands gripped around one of the supporting poles of the elevator, his knuckles turning whiter and his eyes widening at every passing second. He obviously suffered from a fear of heights, and Link guessed he was worried about falling. As the structure neared the ground, he jumped off, rolling to his feet and turning around to smile at Dark.

"Need some help?" he asked, extending his hand towards his frightened companion. Even though the elevator was now safely on the ground, Dark was still holding himself up by the pole. For a second, it looked like he might actually accept the offer, but then he let go and shook his head.

"You Hero types are all the same," he criticized, hopping off the elevator like the trip downstairs had been nothing. "You see weakness when it isn't there, and worse, you offer to help instead of eliminating it. You make me sick." He walked past Link, plunging into the narrow walkway that was meant to lead them to the next room in the temple. Link followed behind him, resting the hand he had offered to Dark at his side. Hearing something he had devoted his whole life to, something that was naturally in his nature spoken about in such a way was hurtful. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to not say anything in response. He still needed Dark's help if he was going to make it out of the temple. And he felt sure, now more than ever, that Dark would not willingly help a true Hero. But he couldn't just stay silent. He always stood up for what he believed in. That was his way - a Hero's way.

"I think that maybe us 'Hero types' just realize that everyone needs help once in a while, and needing it doesn't have anything to do with weakness." They exited the walkway, which had opened up to a small rectangular room that looked like many of the others they had encountered in the Temple of Light. "There's nothing wrong with letting people know that someone is there for them." Link pulled out his longshot, shooting at various areas on the wall. He had done this in all the rooms they had gone to in the hopes of finding something, but in this case he was simply using it to drown out the rest of the words he was saying under his breath.

"If people want help, they'll ask for it." Dark had to shout over the clinking of the longshot. He walked once around the perimeter of the room, and then stood in front of the doorway to the next room with his arms crossed. Link looked at him with curiosity. When he was exploring, he was usually content to just walk around and look at things, but he took the extra measures by using the longshot and his other weapons in every room of this temple because Dark had asked for his help. All this time, he had been wondering why Dark only guided him to each room, but never helped him look through them. And he wondered about that even more now that they were in a room Dark clearly had not been to before. But maybe there was a simple answer. Maybe it was because Link hadn't asked.

"What about if I asked for help?" He held his longshot up, finger pressed over the trigger as he waited for a response from Dark.

"You don't really need my help." _Clang._ Link pressed the trigger, shooting the longshot up at the wall yet again. "Just my eyes, and maybe my sense of direction. And those won't help you with that thing you keep using." He gestured at the longshot, obviously not quite sure of what it was.

"It's called a longshot," Link supplied helpfully, holding it out to him. "It doesn't seem to do too much in here. But when we get back to Hyrule, I can show you how it's meant to be used." In this temple full of carved stone walls and smooth doorways, there was nothing for his longshot to grab onto. But outside, where there were a wider variety of textures, the possibilities were endless.

"You're from Hyrule," Dark stated matter-of-factly, ignoring the offered weapon. Though he had been away from the world for a long time, it didn't surprise him to hear that. From what he remembered about the people of Hyrule, they were polite and helpful. That certainly seemed to describe Link. "What's it like?" He asked the question softly, both curious and afraid to hear the answer.

Link looked at him in confusion. "Aren't you from Hyrule too?" He had always imagined there was more to the world than Hyrule, of course - a world hidden beyond the reaches of Lake Hylia, buried deep under the sand of the Gerudo Desert, or at the end of the seemingly endless maze that was the Lost Woods. But never had he met someone who had traveled past those areas, should it even be possible to do so.

"Yes," Dark shot back at him angrily. "I just haven't been there in a while, that's all." It was the truth, he supposed, though he wasn't sure if the area he still thought of as 'home' was considered a part of Hyrule anymore. They had been in the middle of a war when he left, after all.

"Well," Link said, tucking the longshot back under his belt. "It's changed a lot in the past year, that's for sure." That was the easiest way for him to put it, when he wasn't sure when Dark had last been there or where his loyalties lied.

"Changed how?" Surely more changes had gone on since he had left than just the ones from the past year, but he still wanted to know more about Hyrule as it was today.

"For the better." He wasn't about to give out any additional information, not when it was possible that Dark was one of Ganon's supporters. "When will you be returning?"

"I won't be." Dark's tone turned bitter, and he turned away. He had accepted years ago that he would never see anything outside the temple again. But that didn't make it any easier for him to be reminded of it.

"You have to cross through Hyrule to get anywhere else, you know." Dark's resentment hadn't gone unnoticed by him, but he didn't think Dark would be the type of person to take kindly to inquiries about his well-being. Shaking his head slightly, he pulled out the lens of truth to make sure he hadn't missed anything.

"What's that?" Dark asked, his gaze zeroing in on the purple lens. He approached Link, grabbing the lens from his hand before he had time to react.

"Hey!" Link cried out, but Dark had stopped paying attention to him. He examined the glass, taking in its purple handle, three-pronged red spikes, and the red slit in the middle of the glass that looked eerily like an eye.

"Where did you get this?" Dark held onto the lens protectively, glaring at Link in an accusing way.

"Kakariko Village." Link held out his hand, staring at Dark as he reluctantly gave up the lens. "I like to travel, and I seem to pick up a new souvenir every time I do so." Even though he didn't really consider the tools and weapons he walked away with to be real souvenirs, other people might see it differently. "This is just one of the many things I've collected." There had to be a real person behind Dark's arrogant and impish facade, and by sharing something about himself, he hoped that Dark would reciprocate.

"That's too bad, really." He had lost interest in the lens as soon as he heard it was nothing more than a simple keepsake to his companion, and he had lost interest in being in the same room with Link as soon as he realized he wasn't going to tell him anything important. He wandered out the door and into the next room, leaving the echo of his words behind.

"It's too bad that I like to travel? Or it's too bad that I pick up souvenirs?" Visiting new places meant there were new people to meet and new things to learn; and souvenirs, whether they were small objects or impressive weapons, always held memories. Link didn't think either one of them was bad.

"Bingo," Dark said, his voice and the accompanying snap of his fingers pinpointing his location. Link walked forward, both hands in front and just a little to the side of his so he didn't bump into anything.

"You found something?" he called out hopefully.

"I'm trying to tell you that you should find a new hobby." He could almost feel bad for Link. But if he couldn't even feel bad for himself, he found no reason to take pity on a stranger. "You won't be able to travel now. You're trapped here. Just like me."

Link stopped in his tracks, the unexpected words hitting him with momentary confusion. "What do you mean, trapped?" It hadn't been the first time that Dark indicated he couldn't leave the temple, but he had thought that was his decision. Now it sounded like he didn't have a choice. He ran forward, ignoring his instincts that were telling him to move slower when he couldn't see very well, and somehow made it past Dark, turning around to confront him.

Dark threw his back against the wall, glaring woefully at the man blocking his path. "I mean trapped. Stuck. We're prisoners. We can't get out." He was surprised by how much it still hurt him to say it out loud. He had heard once that time healed all wounds, but it didn't seem to be true in his case.

"If there's a way in , there's a way out." Link was nothing if not confident.

"And when the door slammed behind you on your way in, did you bother to see if it would open again?" Link didn't have to say anything. The look on his face said it all. "Didn't think so," Dark said, almost triumphantly.

"How long have you been here?" Link asked. It didn't make a difference, he supposed. But he always liked to try and prepare for the worst case scenario. Besides, he wanted the answer for other reasons.

Dark leaned forward, getting as close to Link as he dared. "My hair was shorter than yours when I first set foot in this temple." He lifted his hair up, gazing at it with distaste. The ends of his hair rested halfway down his torso, hanging limp and greasy from his head. He had recently considered cutting it with his sword again, but wasn't sure he wanted to take the risk. Last time he had tried to make it shorter, he almost injured himself with the sharp point of his blade.

"We should go check on the door." Link's hands were shaking, but he held his head high as he walked back the way they had come, like facing the situation with pride would change the outcome. Dark did have a twisted sense of humor, and it was entirely possible he was lying. But it would explain a lot, if he was right - such as why he wasn't searching any of the rooms as heavily as Link. Why expend all your efforts at one time, if you know you have the rest of your life to look?

"If you want to try and leave, go ahead." Dark followed him, resisting the temptation to whistle a cheery tune behind him as they entered the narrow walkway to the elevator. "But you'll see, I'm right."

* * *

They were finally there. The moment of truth. Link stood once again at the door to the Temple of Light, almost afraid to try and open it. The handle was right in front of him, yet it seemed millions of miles away, his hands taking forever to reach out and grab it.

"Go on," Dark urged him, sounding almost as anxious as Link felt. It was like he, too, was unsure what the outcome would be - that even though he knew what should happen, he was holding onto the hope, and the fear, that it would be different this time.

Link's fingers grasped the handle, and his arm twisted as if to open the door. But then he stopped, and without warning whirled around to face Dark. "Did you ever try and open it? Even once? Or did you just assume that you couldn't leave?"

"Of course I tried," Dark told him, sounding almost insulted. "It was the first thing I did, when...well, it doesn't matter." He looked like he didn't want to discuss this any further.

Link faced the door again, sighing before quietly asking his companion: "What happened?"

Dark rolled his eyes, knowing that Link would never open the door by himself. He pushed past him, grabbing the handle. "Here," he declared, yanking hard on the door. It opened, revealing a wall of rock, daylight peeking in through the cracks and lighting up the hallway just enough for Link to see clearly.

"But…" Link looked at it in awe, not sure whether to be more alarmed, or impressed, that the rock he so clearly remembered blowing up had somehow repaired itself and covered the door again during the time he had been exploring. He started to feel the first touches of fear at the back of his mind, fighting for control. He pushed it back with a question. "How?"

Dark laughed at him, like it was the most ridiculous question he had ever heard. "How would I know? I certainly didn't put it there, if that's what you're implying." He moved to shut the door, but Link stuck his arm between him and the door, blocking his way.

"I want to check something out," he explained. Dark shrugged, stepping backwards to let Link do what he wanted. There wasn't any way he could make the situation worse, but he also firmly believed there was no way to make the situation better. Might as well let him figure that out himself.

Link stepped closer to the entryway, feeling the magic on the wall crackle around him ominously. And then he remembered – the illusion. The rock wall over the door had been an illusion, and he had still been using the lens of truth when he walked inside. They could probably just walk through it. And even if they couldn't, the wall obviously had some weak points. He could use a bomb to blow it up, creating a space for them to exit through. But he had to be sure.

His fingers brushed past the door, reaching out towards the rock. He could feel the warmth of the sunlight outside, and he even thought he heard the wind, and Epona shuffling through the grass. He stopped, hesitating, before he reached forward.

Dark was watching, part of his mind screaming at Link to stop and the other part urging him on. He had never once reached out to touch the rock. He had seen it, and that was enough to realize that he would never truly see the outside world again. In some ways, he worried it would be too real, to touch it. If he never investigated further, he would spend the rest of his life thinking he was trapped - and he would rather that, than explore and find out that he really was trapped. But now, seeing Link doing without hesitation what he had always been scared to do, he wondered if maybe he was wrong - that there was a way out of the temple, after all.

 _Bang._ The loud noise interrupted his thoughts, jerking him back to reality. He heard a rushing noise, and caught sight of Link in the air above him, flying backwards. His back hit the floor, his groans lost amid the echo of his fall. Dark wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but when he looked at the still-open door, he could guess: Link had been thrown backwards from the cause of the noise; a gently glowing forcefield that had appeared over the temple doorway. He had his answer. They really were trapped.

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

I know, I know. It was short. Still not as short as Chapter 1, mind you.

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 5: Half the Battle**. Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


	5. Half the Battle

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Wow, the last chapter got a lot of activity! I'm really impressed, and I am so glad you're enjoying the story so far! Thank you and a big welcome to my new followers, and also thank you for the reviews! My heart just explodes with joy every time I read them.

The song _This Is Gonna Hurt_ by Sixx:A.M. is a surprisingly good partner song to this chapter. Give it a listen if you like rock music!

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5**

 **Half the Battle**

* * *

Link scrambled to his feet, drawing his sword and his shield in one fluid motion. "Show yourself!" he cried, getting into an attack stance. Whenever something had been actively blocking his way in the past, there had been some new monster to battle. He had no reason to suspect this time would be different.

Dark was about to scoff at him for overreacting, when he realized that he could feel something rising from the shadows. It made no sound, and he couldn't see anything, but he couldn't deny its existence. It felt almost as if the air itself was becoming stiff and heavy as it settled on his skin. And then he heard it – a deep, booming laugh that would have made him jump several feet, had he not been expecting something to happen.

Both men stood in front of the door, facing the hallway that led to the rest of the temple, when they noticed the dead air in the room suddenly come to life, dancing with dirt, bits of rock, and small leaves that were on the floor. The debris swirled in the air, slowly bringing a shadowy figure into focus. Link gasped as the shape became more and more clear. He would recognize that creature anywhere. It was a Poe – but larger than any he had ever seen before, and somehow different.

As for Dark, he had never seen anything like this before. He eyed its translucent figure: a cloak flowing over its body that almost seemed to form a wispy tail where legs should have been, spindly hands that poked out from the sides of its body, and glowing green eyes that stared at them from under its hood. If he had to give it a name, he would call it a ghost. It was floating in midair, and although it was obviously more powerful than either one of them, it hung back in the shadows. It looked at them almost as if it didn't know if it should attack or retreat.

Link shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, catching the attention of the Poe. It locked onto something in his direction, and with a triumphant cry it swooped down on him. Link held up his shield to deflect it, shoving his sword forward. He made a face as the blade went straight through the Poe, leaving it uninjured, and laughing at his feeble attempt. He put it back in its sheath, and lashed out with his shield instead. At least the Poe didn't seem to be able to move through that.

"I think we need something different than a sword! " Link yelled over to Dark, as he tried to hold up his shield with one hand and fumble got a new, more effective weapon with his other hand. He found his bow and begin to pull it out, before remembering he would need two hands to use it. "Here, take it!" He thrust the weapon to his side, waiting for a moment before realizing that Dark hadn't grabbed it yet. "Dark?" He got no response. "Dark?"

Link held his shield over his head as he bent down, twisting his body as he looked for Dark. He found him still in the same spot he had been when the Poe appeared, his wide-eyed expression betraying his fear, though his crossed arms and slight frown conveyed something different. Link had no way of knowing the internal struggle that overcame Dark when he saw what he had truly been pitted against all these years. All he knew was that he needed to help Dark, and fight the Poe at the same time. And if he was going to do that, he would have only his words to convince him.

"Dark, I need you!" He gritted his teeth and swung upwards again with his shield, striking the Poe on the head this time. It laughed and spin around, disappearing from before his eyes and reappearing again farther back in the tunnel. "Fight with me!"

"This isn't my fight," Dark told him, his voice shaking ever so slightly. "You're the one that wanted to leave. You're the one that made it angry." He couldn't handle a fight with this monster, not now. Not when he had his own fight going on inside, a battle of freedom versus fear. It was the same battle he had experienced when he thought about leaving; when he opened the door; when he wondered if he should stretch his hand out and touch the rock blocking his way. Fear always won. This time wouldn't be any different.

"Fine." Taking advantage of the new stretch of distance between him and the Poe, Link put his shield on his back and spun around, ducking down to the floor to protect himself as he took an arrow from his quiver. He turned around again, firing an arrow at it. Instead of going through it, as the sword did, the arrow bounced off it and onto the floor. The Poe looked at it, annoyed, before focusing on Link again. It swooped towards him, lightly brushing against his skin before pulling back. Link's cheek felt positively icy where the Poe had touched his bare skin, and he shivered for a second before he came to his senses and lightly hit his cheek in an attempt to warm it up. As he did so, he noticed the ghost start to spin towards the shadows. Without warning, it rushed by him in a whirlwind, throwing him off balance. He hit the wall, and with anger, he loaded up another arrow.

Sensing his emotions, the arrow turned into a fire arrow. Link leveled it at the Poe, aiming right towards the center of the whirlwind. Both his eyes and his hands followed it as he pulled the arrow back towards the base of his ear. With a flick of his fingers, he let the arrow fly. It hit his target spot on, and the ghost stopped spinning with a roar of surprise. It was only when the Poe shrunk back from the arrow, still burning although it had fallen to the ground, that Link realized what set it apart from the other Poes – it wasn't carrying a lantern.

"Fire…" Link mused, brandishing another arrow. He could win this now, even without Dark's help. All he had needed to know was its weakness.

Dark smirked at him, his hidden fear momentarily lifting. "You're wrong," he told Link, with a smug expression. "It isn't the fire it's afraid of. It doesn't like light. I know I certainly don't." He muttered the last part to himself, shying a bit further away from the gentle glow of the forcefield and the pinpricks of daylight shining through the wall of rock over the entrance to the temple. For someone who didn't like light, he had been exposing himself to it a lot lately.

He wasn't sure entirely sure that Link had heard his comment, but it seemed that the Poe did. It laughed again, with a different, more shrill tone, one that made Dark grit his teeth and cover his ears. "Shut the hell up!" he yelled at it, causing the Poe to drift his way, only laughing louder as it approached him. It let out a breath that could chill the sun itself, and Dark attempted to put his arms to his sides while still protecting his ears, hugging his thin tunic tighter around him.

"Don't let it win," Link told him, keeping his bow aimed at the Poe. It was still too close to Dark to shoot. "It doesn't care that you're not attacking it - if you're not its friend, then you're its enemy, and it will try to hurt you." The Poe finally floated away, and Link shot another fire arrow in its direction. He felt terrible that he had even entertained the thought that Dark could be one of Ganon's minions. He felt better the more arrows he shot; the Poe's laughter becoming tinged with pain at each one.

"Then let it!" Dark shook his head adamantly, ignoring the sounds of arrows whizzing by and the strange, popping noise of the ghost disappearing and reappearing behind Link, hitting him sharply on the back before disappearing again. "I bet it knows better than to mess with me." His voice shook with uncertainty, and he kicked his heels against the wall behind him in aggravation.

"No!" Link cried, not understanding why he was being so stubborn. "You've been hurt enough. You need to stand up for yourself, and take back what's yours!" The pieces were all falling in place for him now. It hadn't taken him long, to recognize the pain and anger that Dark carried with him everywhere. Whatever he was looking for had to be something that was stolen from him, something that he desperately wanted back. Something that he might be able to get back, if only he destroyed the monster in front of them.

The caring tone in Link's voice made Dark listen, for once. Despite being afraid, he didn't like just sitting back and watching a fight take place. But if he fought, and he won...he might be able to leave the Temple of Light. He had spent so many years in search of a way out. But now that he was faced with one, he wasn't sure he wanted it. How could he fight, when he wasn't sure he wanted what would come with the glory of winning?

"What you said to me when we first met!" Link had to raise his voice to be heard over the sounds of the battle. "About Light being your enemy! You may have taken your anger out on the brightness of the torchlight and the daylight outside, and even this temple, but this is what you should be angry at! This thing, this monster, is the true embodiment of the Light you hate so much! You don't have to fight for me, Dark. But you should want to fight for your freedom!"

It was then that he was knocked back by the force of the ghost's breath, coming out this time as an angry cloud towards the door. It slammed shut, throwing the pair into complete darkness once again. Link felt his bow leave his hand, his left arm flying backwards to catch himself. He heard small clattering sounds as his remaining arrows fell out of his quiver and scattered over the floor, and gripped the arrow in his right hand as hard as he could. If he was able to find his bow, he wanted to have one ready right away.

Rolling over to get on his hands and knees, he put the arrow from his right hand between his teeth, and started searching the floor blindly for his bow and arrows. Even the exposure to such a small amount of light had reset his night vision, and everything looked pitch black. He couldn't make out any shapes, but he knew the monster of the temple was still there. Link could sense its presence all around him, making him feel strangely claustrophobic.

In all the confusion, Link had no way of knowing that his bow had fallen across the floor and skittered over to rest at Dark's feet. He didn't realize that Dark had reached down to grab his bow, being flooded with feelings of righteousness and independence, remembering how Link saved him after their fight even though he could have let him die. His ears were not sensitive enough to hear Dark leap lightly to his feet and grab one of the arrows, setting it against the bow and pulling the string. But there was a change in the air that no one could miss, a sudden feeling of hope that rang through the room.

What happened next came all in a blur, with bright light suddenly flooding the area, making Link throw his hands over his eyes. As he peered through his fingers, he could just make out Dark's outline, looking very impressive with the fairy bow in his hands and an arrow drawn and aimed at the ghost. He doubted that he would be able to make a light arrow glow so brightly himself, and stared at Dark in awe. The Poe, too, seemed to notice the extra brightness of the arrow, and started to retreat into the narrow hallway.

How Dark ever could sense where the ghost was or what it was doing would remain a mystery to Link for a long time, as his eyes were tightly shut and his head was bent down, allowing his long hair to help block out the light. But he seemed to be perfectly aware of what was happening, stepping two steps forward for every step backwards the ghost floated. "No you don't. Not on my watch." A low growl emanated from his throat, a surprisingly intimidating noise, and suddenly the light arrow shot forward.

Though everything else had happened quickly, this one moment almost seemed to happen in slow motion. Dark's arms moved slightly backwards in response to him firing the arrow, and he put the bow down by his side. His arrow flew up and in a perfect arc, sailing towards the ghost. Link dropped the arrow he had been holding between his teeth as he gasped in surprise. Then the arrow made contact with the Poe, causing it to writhe in pain as it glowed with some internal light, and Link knew he only had a second to react. "Dark!" he yelled, jumping to his feet and running towards the man who had just defeated the monster of the temple.

When people think of a monster dying in battle, they usually imagine them falling to the ground, magic leaving with their life force and turning their body into dust. But after being in battles with many large monsters, Link knew that their magic didn't just leave – at least not without causing a bit of trouble first. Monsters quite frequently lit on fire, body parts slamming to the ground or rolling off them, leaving a path of destruction in the wake of their death. Sometimes this could be even more dangerous than the fight itself, if you didn't know to get out of the way.

The death of this monster was unique in that, as a ghost, it was already dead. There was no soul to leave, nothing to bind the body together but the magic being used to control it. It exploded outwards, ricocheting beams of magic over the walls. Link focused his thoughts on Dark: his gratitude towards him for dealing the final blow in the battle, his sorrow at how he had obviously been inside the temple for quite some time, and the budding feelings of companionship that he felt; the hope that despite all their differences they could become friends. Nayru's Love was the best defense he had, but it was a very specific spell, powered through emotions. He wasn't sure it would work on anyone besides him.

Just as he began to give up hope, he saw the telltale blue glow of the spell at Dark's feet, flickering as it struggled to take form. "Work!" he yelled, the glow already strong around his own body. "Protect him, Nayru!" He reached out and grabbed Dark's wrist, making the glow flare up around Dark. Dark tensed at his touch, but he made no move to get away as the shield crept up to cover him fully.

It was really only a split second, though it felt like an eternity to Link. The out of control magic bounced off the walls a few more times before heading their direction, hitting the shield that was guarding Dark and fizzling into nothingness as Nayru's magic overpowered it. Link let go of Dark's wrist, watching the blue glow disappear from both of them. As the last touches of the spell faded, the door cracked open, letting daylight in once more. He felt an awkwardness hang over them, and held out his hand.

"The bow." His voice cracked with exhaustion. Large battles always seemed to knock him out, but usually he was able to borrow energy from his opponent afterwards. This time he could see no energy to borrow, and he felt almost on the verge of collapse.

Dark, still looking silently at the floor, held out the bow. He made no move to let go when Link grabbed the bow, nor did Link pull away. He stared at his raven-haired companion, gratitude and curiosity battling within him as he thought about the past couple minutes.

"What?" Dark did not look up, though he felt Link's eyes on him. He too, felt conflicting feelings brewing inside him. He had vowed not to be nice to this stranger who was no longer a stranger to him, and now he found himself helping him, and possibly saving his life. "I didn't do it for you," he spat out angrily, more to reassure himself than inform Link.

"I know," Link said seriously. "But thank you anyway." He smiled, lifting his whole face into a happier expression, and gently removed the bow from Dark's hand before slinging it over his back once more. "I owe you one." He chose not to put a voice to the questions that fought to be asked; the curiosity that was pushing him to find out how Dark could handle a bow meant only for one pure of heart, why he changed his mind about fighting, and most importantly, why Nayru's Love, a spell that Link had never been able to use on another person before, worked so well at protecting him.

He looked towards the door, sensing the freedom that awaited them on the other side. The forcefield was gone, and he knew now that the wall was only an illusion. They could leave anytime they wanted. "You did it, Dark. You battled Light, and you won. You're free now." He walked over to the entrance, and stuck his hand outside. It passed right through the wall, leaving a small break in the illusion around where he touched it.

Dark smiled, a very sad smile for someone who had just fought and won against what he at one point had called his enemy. There was more keeping him here than a rock wall and a forcefield. And it wasn't just fear. He realized that now. "You're free. I'm not."

"What do you mean? I'm not leaving without you…" Link trailed off, wondering why it meant so much to him. But of course, he was a Hero. Heroes help people, even when they don't know they want to be helped. It's their job.

"Then stick around here, for all I care. It doesn't make any difference to me." He sighed, a long, dreary sigh, and leaned against the wall. "I told you, I'm looking for something. I'm not leaving until I find it."

"Dark." Link was very firm with him, like he was talking to a stubborn child. "You fought so hard for this. You can't just give it up."

"If I left now, I would be no better than the monster I just helped destroy." Self-pity wasn't a good look for Dark, but in a situation like this, it couldn't be helped.

Link sighed. He had never been good at dealing with people in deep emotional pain. A pat on the back and saying _there, there_ had never sufficed in the past, and he didn't think the method would be any more successful with Dark.

"Every second that goes by while I'm here, or while I'm outside the temple, is another second that I'm not looking for what I've lost," Dark continued. "I can't just leave and expect it to be okay. I have to keep searching, until I find it, or until I die trying." There was a catch in his voice, one that almost seemed to spill over with emotion.

Link took pity on the man, lowering his voice to sound less intimidating. "What were you hoping to find?" He looked closely at his companion, and one glance at his grief-stricken face told him it couldn't just be a simple object that Dark had been tracking. " _Who_ were you hoping to find?"

Dark lifted his head, staring at him unashamed even though tears at the corner of his eyes threatened to roll down his face. They made eye contact, and he cleared his throat before speaking. "My brother. I've been looking for my brother."

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

I wrote this, and I'm still reeling from the events of this chapter. It was really intense for me to write, so hopefully you all enjoyed it! I promise that next week's chapter will be a little longer - it also might be a few days late though, due to my work schedule. I apologize in advance if so!

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 6: That's How the Story Goes**. Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


	6. That's How the Story Goes

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Thank you for your continued support! This chapter has been brought to you by coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6**

 **That's How The Story Goes**

* * *

"I came here when I was very young. A war broke out in Hyrule, and my people – the Sheikah – were heavily involved." Dark's voice shook, and he sat down on the floor in an attempt to steady himself. Link lowered himself to the floor as well, putting a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.

Dark's heritage wasn't as much of a surprise to him as it would be to most people. Red eyes were very uncommon, after all - to his knowledge, they were a trait unique to the Sheikah. And the lens of truth, with a design so similar to the Sheikah symbol, certainly would have attracted his attention. It also explained his fiery personality and his particular fighting style. But the Sheikah had disappeared long ago, when Link was but a small child. It was hard to believe that one had been here all along, hidden away in a forgotten temple.

"My parents, like many in our community, had been drafted into the Royal Army. My father was called to serve first. Then my mother. Eventually the time came for both of them to leave our village - and though I was too young to understand this at the time, they knew they weren't coming back. At least not for a while. I've come to realize that's why they were so adamant that we not join them.

"My brother was 16 at the time, just old enough to be drafted into the Royal Army as well. Not that he would have needed to be drafted. He loved the rush he got from fighting and the glory that came from winning, two things the army offered in plenty. He had wanted to sign up right away when he heard they needed more soldiers. But my parents refused to let him. They needed someone to stay behind and protect me - I was much too young to fight. I still remember it so clearly, how upset he was; how desperate my parents were for a solution. It's the whole reason we came here."

* * *

" _Mother...Father…Please let me come with you." A young man with a sword and shield strapped to his back stood in front of two warriors of the Sheikah, bent over in a respectful bow._

" _You can't come with us, Shadir!" A woman, Shadir's mother, cried out at her son. Her tone carried the exasperation that came with having to repeat herself. "It's not that I'm not proud of your willingness, because I am. We both are," she said with a glance and a smile at her husband. "But the Sheikah do not abandon their family. And your brother is much too young to accompany us. Protecting him from the war is as noble as fighting in it yourself. Please understand."_

" _But…" the young warrior's pleas tugged at his parents' heartstrings. If things had been different, this would have been a proud moment in their lives, rather than a sad one._

" _She's right." His father spoke then, with both authority and kindness. "Children are rare among the Sheikah these days, and must be protected. But don't stay here. No children of mine will be seen cowering from battle inside." He looked at his wife then, almost apologetically. "There's an ancient temple I know of, several days journey from here. It has long since been abandoned -"_

" _Akrim!" The woman's tone was sharp and demanding as she scolded her husband, catching the attention of a small child huddled in a corner of the room. He preferred not to intrude on adult conversations, but this was important. This concerned him. "You can't possibly be saying what I think you're saying."_

" _But I am, Nadia," he told her with a reassuring grin. "The Temple of Light. You told me about it yourself. Do you not think it's a suitable place for our children?"_

" _It isn't." She huffed angrily at him. "The temple hasn't been used in years, and with good reason, in case you've forgotten. How would they even get in?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for an answer._

" _Your magic helped to seal the doorway. Your magic can help to break that seal - only if for just long enough for our boys to get in. Please." The safety the temple offered was his last hope as a father. Though he didn't want to say it in front of either his wife or his children, soon it would be too dangerous to stay in the village. If the boys were still there when that happened, they would be forced to fight to defend themselves, and would likely lose their lives in the struggle. Shadir was a good fighter, one of the best for his age. But he was no match for a whole army._

" _Fine." The rhythmic tapping stopped, and Nadia held out her hands to her eldest son. "Quickly, Shadir. Hand over your sword and shield." Wordlessly, the youth obeyed, and Dark watched wide-eyed from his corner as his mother waved her hands over the weapons._

"Kufuata...makali...ya...giza _." With each syllable, blackness crept further over the sword and shield, making them blend in with the darkness settling in around them. It was not the first time her sons had seen her perform incredible feats, but it was the first time they had seen her imbue a weapon with magical qualities. Dark could not stop the gasp that escaped him, and he clapped his hands over his mouth as he realized he had given away his position. Thankfully, no one noticed except Shadir, who winked at his brother._

" _This sword, and this shield, are now as resilient as the legendary blade of the first Sheikah warrior, the Sword of Shadow." Nadia reached out and closed her son's hand over his weapons. "Let magic find magic. As long as you have this, you will be able to get into the temple." She backed away from him then, arms folded in front of her and head bowed. She had just betrayed one of her oldest beliefs. But it was worth it, to save her sons._

" _Son." Akrim stepped forward to take her place. "The Temple of Light is a gateway from our world to others. I can feel in my heart that you will find them. Don't give up." He bent down, placing his hands on his son's shoulders. "Never give up."_

* * *

"I wonder what my parents would think of us now. What they would think of me now," he added in a softer voice. "How could my father have seen this as a better option than staying home? He told us that he didn't want us hiding from battle. But isn't that just what we did? We took refuge here, and left the fighting for those who were older and stronger. We took the cowards' way out." His voice was edged with shame. The Sheikah were not cowards.

"It took us a long time to get here." Dark continued his story with a deep sigh. He didn't remember this part very clearly, himself. His words were based on what Shadir had told him, once he was old enough to understand and start asking questions. "All of Hyrule was a battlefield. Some people wore uniforms. Others didn't. We had no way of knowing who was fighting for what side - and truthfully, we didn't even know what side we were on. So we had to avoid everyone.

"Sneaking past soldiers wasn't that difficult for us. A child doesn't really make for a good target. Even when we were spotted, they took pity on us and left us alone." Link felt his heart reach out to Dark, but also to the soldiers. He knew all too well that their pity was driven by the holes in their heart formed by having to leave their own families, and their own children behind. But he wasn't about to interrupt Dark to share that with him. "Shadir didn't want to take a chance at night, though. I wasn't able to cover much ground during the day, and he wasn't really able to carry me. He was too weighed down with supplies. So at night, we stayed underground.

"Did you know that there are holes hidden all over Hyrule Field? Each one marks an underground cavern, a meeting place that the Sheikah were responsible for creating. Any Sheikah fighting in the war would have stayed in one at least once. We used it as a way to leave messages for each other. My brother left a message in each one we encountered. I think he was hoping that our parents would hear one of them. Then once he left the message, we would turn in for the night. And once we had rested from a day of dodging soldiers, we would leave and do the same thing again until we reached the next hole."

He paused for a moment in his story, looking around as if trying to remember something. In some ways, it was like he was seeing the area around him for the first time. He knew he had been in this hallway more times than he could count, and yet it was unfamiliar to him now. "I don't actually remember us arriving here. I do remember the fear I felt, and the feeling of something chasing us all over Hyrule Field. And then one day that feeling was just gone. We were safe once we reached the temple. Nothing could follow us. I've been here ever since."

Link stared at Dark, the meaning of his words sinking in. If he had been in the temple ever since that moment, he hadn't set foot outside in at least 15 years, possibly even longer. But that couldn't be right. "How did you even _survive_?" he asked incredulously. "What did you eat? What did you drink?" He was used to a life of not being at home, but he at least had access to a hot meal and a glass of milk or water anytime he wanted one.

Dark erupted with laughter at his questions, slapping the ground hard enough that Link could feel the vibrations rise from the floor. "Of course you focus on that," he said, his voice shaking with both laughter and anger. "You don't think about how I managed to grow up without the guidance of my parents, how I can speak to you with even the semblance that I've led a normal life. Why I'm not scared to be around another person, even though I haven't spoken to anyone besides my brother in years. How I learned how to properly use a sword." He shook Link's hand off his shoulder finally, and Link returned it to his own lap, looking at his companion thoughtfully.

"Don't worry," he said then, shaking his head. "I'll answer your questions. It was easy to live like this at first. We were prepared to spend at least a year here. We had real food at the beginning, even though it was just stale bread from home. We moved onto rations later. And after a while...well, let's just say that those Chu Chus we ran into earlier are on the nutritious side. We spent a lot of time in the room with the tree. My brother was smart. He knew if the tree was still alive, it had access to water somehow. We never found its water supply, but we still took advantage of it, by eating the leaves."

"I'm sorry," Link said. He couldn't imagine living through such hardships. "How did you learn to fight?" he asked after a moment. The least he could do was ask a question that Dark seemed to want to answer. His face brightened up considerably, and he turned to face Link.

"My brother taught me," he said, with a small smile. His lessons were one of the few things he had to look forward to, one of the things that broke up the monotony of the temple. "We started off with hand to hand combat, actually. I learned all the different types of punches and kicks that he had been taught when he was younger. But more importantly I learned how an opponent thinks, and how they're likely to attack. Shadir was good at imitating different fighting styles, and I learned to recognize them all." He sounded very proud of himself.

"I've always been more comfortable with hand to hand combat," he confessed. "Maybe it's because I still think of this sword as being his." He reached behind him, stroking the hilt of his blade. "We only had one sword, and one shield. I started out with the shield, blocking his attacks. Then we traded, and I used the sword. It wasn't easy to learn that way, but my brother was a gifted instructor. Between his abilities, and branches we took from the tree to use in fights against each other, we managed."

Link watched conflicting emotions flicker across Dark's face. As happy as he was when he remembered his lessons, he missed his brother. Link was almost afraid to ask him about what had happened. But he had to know. "Dark...where is your brother now?"

His question was met with an immediate burst of anger. "If I knew, do you think I would be giving up my freedom to find him?" He glared at Link, but both men were stubborn, and neither one was backing down. Finally, Dark nodded. Link deserved to know the truth. "He was captured," he explained. "Taken by a hideous monster that I had never seen before. It was a couple years ago. I thought at first he could defeat the monster, and that he would return to me...but I gave up on that a while ago. If I'm ever going to see him again, I'll have to find him myself."

* * *

" _Your grip is still a little bit off." Shadir grinned as he reached out to correct his brother's hand on the sword they both shared. No matter how many times he showed Dark the proper way to hold the weapon, he still continued to grasp it close to the blade. At first he had been annoyed, feeling like his younger brother wasn't listening to him, but he had recently decided to take joy in finding new ways to explain an old concept. "If I were to try and knock your weapon out of your hand, you would be at risk for injury."_

" _You can't knock this out of my hand - we only have one sword!" Dark laughed openly at his brother, twirling the sword in his hand. "Besides, even if you could, you wouldn't. An honorable man would never leave his opponent without a weapon." The statement was ironic, seeing as Shadir, who for the time being was Dark's only opponent, had no weapon of his own._

" _The statement is actually 'an honorable man would never leave his opponent defenseless.'" He made his point by brandishing his shield in Dark's direction, making him jump backwards._

" _But Shadir, you have the best defense of all! I could never hurt my own brother." The two brothers smiled at each other, mirror expressions that would have left people thinking they were twins if only there wasn't such a noticeable age gap between them._

 _Shadir's smile was the first to fade, leaving a troubled expression on his face. "I'm not the only opponent you'll ever have." His tone grew quieter and more serious. "I know I've been saying this for years, and nothing's changed, but we really will leave here one day. We'll find a gateway to another world, just like Father told us we would, and we'll go through it."_

" _What if we never find one?" Dark's question, which he had already asked himself so many times, was one of his major sources of worry._

" _Then Mother and Father will come to get us." It worried Dark to hear his brother talk in that manner. Even though they had been alone for years; long enough for Dark to grow from a small child to an adult, Shadir still firmly believed that their parents would walk through the temple doorway one day and tell them it was safe to come back home. It was not a belief that Dark shared._

" _What if they never come back, Shadir? What then? We can't just stay here." There had to be some way to make him understand; some way to make him see that they should try to return home. Dark had wanted to go back for a long time now. But he wasn't leaving without his brother._

 _Like always, though, Shadir ignored his question. "Worry darkens the soul," he warned instead. "Let's get back to training, okay?" But the sudden movement of Dark's sword as he rose into a protective battle mode was not in response to Shadir's words. His eyes were on something in the distance; a shadow that was creeping closer and closer to them._

" _Watch out!" Dark yelled, as the shadow descended without warning. He recoiled in horror at the sight; a gigantic, leathery looking hand that was oozing green liquid out of various pores. He leapt forward, pushing Shadir to the side and slashing at the creature with his sword._

 _It was not the first time they had seen an unusual creature in the temple. There had even been times they had gone looking for them. But this was no creature. This was a monster, the likes of which they had never encountered before._

 _Shadir looked on in horror as his brother slashed hopelessly at the zombified hand. Dark was more talented with a sword than he would normally give him credit for, and had always been able to hold his own when they had mock battles with branches. At this moment though, he thought of him not as a fighter, or even as someone who could protect him. He could only think of him as his baby brother._

 _Dark gasped as his elbow was hit from behind, making him drop his weapon. He grimaced in pain, his newly sliced arm dripping blood onto the floor as he turned around to face his assailant. "I told you," Shadir hissed at him as he picked the blade up off the floor and took Dark's position in front of the monster. This was when he was in his element. Nothing existed now except for him and his opponent._

 _The hand danced on its fingertips, dodging strike after strike first from Dark, and then from Shadir. It didn't have a face, or anything else that could have been used to judge its emotions, but it seemed to be enjoying itself. Its fingernails scratched on the floor's surface with every move, giving off an echoing pitch that made most of its enemies relent. But these adversaries seemed impervious to the awful sound, ignoring it as they continued to try and wear it down._

 _Little did Shadir realize he was being worn down much faster than the hand. There was no way his blade could cut through its thick skin; he wouldn't be able to hurt the monster, much less kill it. But he had to take a chance. He lunged forward, his sword held out in front of him in an attempt to stab his enemy. It reared back as if in surprise, and he aimed for the now-exposed palm of the giant hand. If he could strike now, this monster would be unlikely to ever bother them again._

 _There was no way he could have known that was what the hand had been waiting for. As he stretched forward, one hand extended in front of him with the sword, and the other curled behind him, the hand jumped out of reach. It levitated off the ground, spinning around once before closing its fingers around him with lightning-sharp reflexes and plucking him off the ground._

 _In a panic, Shadir hit his attacker over and over again with the butt of the sword, while Dark screamed in the background. "Take that!" With no other weapon available to him, he hurled a large rock in its direction. Rather than making it drop Shadir, though, it only begin to move away even faster, rising towards the ceiling in an effort to leave._

" _Shadir!" Dark called, feeling tears well up in his eyes as he watched his brother be carried away. He hated being helpless. There had to be something he could do. "Don't give up, brother! Being close to an attacker has its advantages, too!"_

 _But to his chagrin, Shadir was more focused on undoing the straps around his clothing, the holders for the sword and shield falling to the ground as he was whisked away. He knew it was too late for him. Now all he could do was make sure his brother had their weapons, so he could prepare in case he ever encountered an attack like this again. His sword was the first to go, clattering to the ground. A waiting Dark picked it up, his expression twisted in sorrow and agony. The shield was next. Dark let this one hit the ground, not even pausing to look at it as he chased after them._

" _Brother," Shadir called down to him, his voice growing fainter as he grew weaker from the grip around him. "Don't give up. Never give up." Those were the words that his father had passed down to him, the words that kept him going when times seemed tough. And now, he was passing them down to Dark._

 _Dark, completely out of breath, finally stopped running. He stood there, weapon holders slung over his shoulder, sword in hand, processing what his brother had told him. And then, even as he watched his brother and the hand disappear into the wall, a smile crept over his face. Shadir was right. He wouldn't give up. He would find him again._

* * *

"Watch for the shadows of monsters that hang from the ceiling." It was a phrase that Navi repeated every time Link entered an area such as this one; one where a waiting monster would grab him if he wasn't focused enough on the task at hand. The gentle warning had always put him on high alert, saving him more times than he cared to admit. Wallmasters didn't always kill their victims, but they were certainly capable of it.

"I _was_ watching! I tried to fight it." Link's words stung Dark, and he defended himself indignantly. _It wasn't my fault,_ he tried to tell himself, even as his mind screamed at him _it's all your fault_.

"Oh," Link said, realizing only now he had repeated the warning out loud. "I didn't mean, um..." He found himself at a loss for words under Dark's accusing glare. "It's a warning about Wallmasters I heard once," he admitted.

"About what?" Dark asked, unfamiliar with the term. Slowly, what Link was saying dawned on him. "You mean...you know what that thing _was_?" In his mind, he simply referred to it as _The Thing_. He had been hunting it down since that fateful day he and his brother were separated. But he never found a trace of it, and it had never appeared again.

"I've seen them before." Link nodded grimly, his eyes meeting Dark's. "They're called Wallmasters. They creep around the ceilings of temples like this one, casting shadows on the floor below them. They tend to target victims who aren't moving or who aren't aware of their surroundings. But sometimes they'll attack anyway."

"Just like that one attacked Shadir," Dark said sadly.

"Right. The Wallmaster must have seen him as a threat. They exist solely to protect an area - I guess this one thought he was a danger to the temple." Link paused, searching for a way to tell Dark about his own experience with a Wallmaster. "I've been grabbed by one before. I was in the Forest Temple at the time - a temple kind of like this one," he explained. "It dropped me outside, and then it left. I had a couple wounds where its fingernails dug into me, but it was nothing life-threatening."

Dark looked at him carefully, trying to judge if what he heard was correct. "So it dropped you outside the entrance to the temple? Not in the temple somewhere?"

"Yes, and I was completely fine." Link was puzzled. He thought Dark would have been pleased to hear that his brother most likely would not have been seriously injured by his captor.

"But if you were dropped outside of a temple by a Wallmaster...and Shadir was grabbed by a Wallmaster...he might not even be here." His face fell as he realized that his search efforts over the past several years might have been for nothing.

"He might not be," Link told him honestly. "But it isn't your fault," he said, noting the distressed look on Dark's face. "There was no way you could have known." He remembered how he had dropped everything to find Navi for months after her disappearance, wandering through the Lost Woods and visiting every Fairy Fountain he could find for answers. He blamed himself for her being missing. It was Zelda who eventually talked some sense into him, convincing him that he had to move on. "You can't put your life on hold for someone, no matter how much they mean to you."

"But don't you see? I don't have to now." Dark looked with renewed strength at the door. "I wanted to leave the temple for a long time, actually. It was Shadir who didn't want to. I think he liked it here. The only reason I wanted to stay was to find him. But I won't find him here, because just like you were dropped outside that other temple, he was dropped outside this one. And that means he's in Hyrule."

Link looked at him with concern. Of course he didn't realize that there was no way Shadir was in Hyrule; that the Sheikah had been missing since the war ended. He could tell him. It was a Hero's duty, after all. But was it really his place, to share the story of a people so long gone, when he wasn't sure of all the facts surrounding their disappearance? Was it right for him to burden Dark with such information, when he would have no answers for him? In the end, he decided that the breaking of such news should be left to someone else, someone with more intimate knowledge of the Sheikah.

"Then come with me," Link said at last. There was no limit to the amount of resources Link had access to. Someone, somewhere out there, knew something about this temple, and once they found them, they would be able to find Dark's brother. "I'll help you find him."

Even though Dark felt now that Shadir wasn't in the temple, he still felt guilt gnaw at him, reminding him that the Sheikah do not abandon their families. But he wasn't abandoning his brother. He was taking a new route on the journey to find him. He just had to keep telling himself that. "Let me grab my stuff," he said, and with a nod from Link he walked back into the darkness of the temple for the last time.

Link stood up, his back to the doorway, watching Dark's retreating figure. For the first time, Link felt like he was seeing the real Dark – a child, trapped in an adult's body. After his brother had been taken away, he had grown up with no guidance on life's true meaning, no help with difficult tasks, and no one to turn to in times of need. Link, too, was just a child in an adult's body, and he couldn't help but feel that the similarity made them closer. But unlike Dark, Link had needed to grow up quickly; had wanted to embrace the responsibility that came with being older. Dark had wished with all his heart that time would stand still; that he could live forever in his last minutes with his brother. But though his mind stayed in that moment, the passage of time would not wait for him. It continued moving, and would be forcing Dark to catch up for the rest of his life.

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

According to Google Translate, _kufuata makali ya giza_ , the spell Dark and Shadir's mother used on their sword and shield, means _follow the edge of darkness_ in Swahili. I have doubts about the legitimacy of this translation, but for my purposes it doesn't really matter. Just thought it would be a fun Easter egg!

By the way, a couple chapters from now I plan to try and explain more about Dark's time in the temple, and the Temple of Time itself, so if you have any questions, please send them my way and I'll see if I can incorporate them! Even if I can't, I'll do my best to answer them anyway.

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 7: The Choices We Make**. Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


	7. The Choices We Make

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey everyone! I'm sorry that this chapter is up so late. The past three weeks have been extremely busy at work - I've ended up working 12-hour days without even so much as a 15-minute break more than I care to admit. So it's been tough to find time to write, let alone do anything else.

That being said, I need to drastically back down my update schedule. I basically don't exist from September to December, due to many birthdays, important holidays, and a huge event at work that I somehow ended up in charge of - but now it seems that my normally quiet summer will be on the busy side as well. Sorry, guys! I'll still continue to post new chapters whenever I can, I promise. It will just be a lot less often.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7**

 **The Choices We Make**

* * *

Despite his resolve and determination, it was with much hesitation and uncertainty that Dark finally emerged from the temple. It was scary enough for him to put his faith into the rock over the door being an illusion. But, in retrospect, that was the easy part. At least rock was familiar to him; coarse grey stone that made up much of the interior of the temple. It was what was beyond the rock that would take him time to accept: the temperature outside that was so much warmer of that of the temple, even though it made his skin feel clammy; the wind, which rushed against him in a way he hadn't expected; but most of all, the sky above him and the openness of the surrounding area. If there was an opposite feeling to that of claustrophobia, Dark was feeling it now.

With a loud _bang_ , Link closed the door to the temple. The finality in the note did not provide the closure that Dark needed, but it did make him realize that a new chapter in his life was beginning. It had been a long time since he had seen anything but the stone walls of the temple, but he had been happy in Hyrule at one point in his life, and he could be again. He just needed to find Shadir first.

"Do you ride?" Link asked him, and it took Dark a moment to register what he meant. A horse stood off to the side, her head nodding down as she pawed at the grass with her right front hoof. She was beautiful, by equine standards, but her golden fur and shiny black mane went unnoticed by the Sheikah, who was much more focused on her size. "This is Epona," Link told him, patting her head gently. "She can carry us both, if you like."

Dark shook his head. There had been horses back home; mostly used for manual labor on their growing fields. They were considered to be trusty partners for the most part, and people valued the help they provided. But he had never ridden one himself before, and he didn't feel now was the time to give it a try.

Link sighed, squinting up at the fading light. "Our best bet is to head to Lon Lon Ranch." He pointed to a walled off structure at the top of a hill. "It's too late to go anywhere else, and I don't like the idea of spending the night in the field." There hadn't been Stalchildren in Hyrule Field since he was a child, but he was still uncomfortable staying there much past sunset. Even though it would be easier to just take Dark to his house, Lon Lon Ranch was closer. "Are you sure you don't want to ride?"

Dark shook his head again, more vehemently this time. "Okay," Link said, holding out his hand. "Then give me your bag. I'm going to send her on ahead." Wordlessly, Dark handed over his pack. It was surprisingly heavy, and contained several bottles, extra clothing, and keepsakes from his home. "Your sword, too," Link said, attaching the pack to Epona. He was met with an accusing stare.

"I'll keep that, thanks." He put his hand to his throat in surprise after speaking. Even his voice sounded different to him; everything he heard now was spread out and heard a single time, rather than it returning to him with a ringing or echoing quality.

"I'll take mine off, too." Link unbuckled his sword and shield, attaching them both to Epona. He understood Dark's reluctance to hand over his blade, but they would be able to move faster if they weren't carrying any weapons. Though he seemed to walk effortlessly with the pounds of steel strapped to his back, Link knew from experience the amount of force it took to move even a single step. "We won't need weapons where we're going."

With a look of annoyance, Dark slid his sword and shield off as well, walking over to Epona and trying to attach them himself. He roughly grabbed at the packs on Epona's back, jumping and cursing as she reared in surprise, his sword and shield falling to the ground. Link ran forward, tugging on Epona's reins to pull her back to the ground. "Easy, girl," he soothed her. "She doesn't like strangers," he explained with a grin. "Don't worry. She'll get used to you eventually."

Dark grunted in response, picking up his weapons in one swift movement and handing them over to Link. He watched as Link tossed his sword from hand to hand, taking a sample swing with it. "Nice heft," he commented, placing it next to his own sword. He had thought it would irritate him more, to watch Link handle his blade. He didn't want just anyone touching it - but Link wasn't just anyone. He was the person who had rescued him from years of imprisonment, the man who would help him reunite with his family.

With a last check over the straps attaching everything to Epona, he tapped her lightly on the rear end, sending her running towards the safety of the ranch and the high fence that surrounded it. "She'll be waiting there for us when we get there," Link said to his companion. "Let's go."

* * *

It hadn't really taken them that long to reach the top of the hill, even though the light had disappeared several minutes ago. It was surprisingly nice, Link thought, even though he had wanted to be safely inside by this point. A smooth nighttime breeze was rolling through the trees, and the moonlight shone on the grass. Near the opening in the walled structure, a girl was waiting serenely for their arrival. Her pink skirt and yellow bandanna flapped in the wind, and her hair was streaming out behind her.

"Link!" she called out as he came into focus on the pathway. She ran towards him, throwing her arms around him with abandon. "I was so worried! I saw Epona and didn't know what to think. I've put her in the pasture for the evening; she loves being outside." She stared up at him with bright blue eyes, waiting for him to speak.

"Malon." Link returned her hug, bowing his head formally in her direction as he stepped away. "I'm sorry for worrying you." He had forgotten how restless Malon was, allowing her head to run wild with terrifying thoughts. "Allow me to introduce you to my friend, Dark. He'll be traveling with me for some time." He gestured behind him, stepping to the side so that Dark was in full view.

"I'm not your -" Dark's words were cut off by a glare from Link as he turned around to face his new companion. There was a time and place for Dark's attitude, but this was not it. He mouthed _be nice_ at him, hoping that he would listen, before facing Malon again.

If Malon was surprised by the sorry shape of Dark's clothing, the dirt and grime that seemed to be almost a permanent mark on his skin, or the threatening scowl on his face, she hid it well. Her expression did not waver, and her hands, clasped firmly behind her back, did not shake or quiver with nervousness. "Hello, Dark! Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch!" She greeted him with a smile perfected from years of dealing with customers, and a slight sideways nod of her head that could make even the stingiest buyers friendly.

Dark gave a curt nod in her direction, obviously not impressed with her flowery appearance and greeting. This was his first time seeing a girl in many years, and he was slightly disappointed to see that they were not particularly alluring, though his brother had assured him they would be. He shot a sour look at Link, wondering how it was that he looked more attractive than this girl did.

"We were hoping that perhaps you could put us up for a night or two?" Link gave Malon his most charismatic grin, spreading his hands out at his sides. "I just can't seem to stay away from this place!" He had learned early on that his charm could earn him many favors, and while he didn't use it often, he was not above doing so when he felt he needed to.

"Of course, Link, you know you're always welcome here! But…" she glanced worriedly in Dark's direction, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. Her heart was torn between helping her friend and protecting the ranch. Talon had done a stranger a kindness once, and in return the stranger had poisoned Ingo's mind and set him against them, resulting in him forcefully taking over the ranch. Since then, they were less inclined to help others, even though they doubted that such evil still lived in the world.

"I'll vouch for him," Link told her, stepping closer. He was one of the few who understood her reluctance. But while Dark might be a bit rough around the edges, he was not a bad person in the way she was worried about. She had nothing to fear from him. "He's fallen on some hard times recently," he whispered. "He needs a couple days away from it all, to adjust. He isn't as bad as he seems, really."

Link always came across as genuine and honest, something that instantly eased Malon's worry. She started walking back towards the ranch, gesturing for both of the men to follow her. "Daddy's already asleep, but he sure will be glad to see you in the morning, Link!" She giggled, the sound making her seem like a young girl instead of a young woman.

"How is Talon?" Link inquired politely. He found it challenging to listen to Malon, as he kept turning around to make sure Dark was following them as they climbed up the slope of the hill to enter the ranch.

"He's doing great, thanks for asking! Yesterday he found a few new people to play the Super Cucco-Finding Game, and we only lost one bottle of milk out of it." The best part of asking Malon a question was that her answers often meandered, leaving Link free to think of other things rather than committing all his brainpower to come up with the next topic of conversation. "He's really adapting well to his increased responsibilities on the ranch! Of course I helped him pick which ones would be best for him. He wanted to take over our finances, can you imagine?" Another small giggle escaped her. "Daddy is terrible with numbers! He's much better when he's helping the ranch hands with the cows and horses."

"Of course," she said with a small sigh, "even if he was good with numbers, he would need to help the ranch hands right now. We lost a few of them recently, all of them to pursue other careers. We're very happy to see them follow their dreams, but we do miss having them around, and we miss the help they provided us with. Don't worry about Ingo, though!" she added, knowing that Link would inquire about him. "He's still here, and he's doing better than ever! He's our most loyal worker. I'm not sure why exactly he had that sudden change of heart, but I know you had something to do with it, Link. Thank you."

Link's attention was drawn in front of him again as Malon turned around suddenly, taking his hand in hers. Link smiled at her, inwardly hoping she wouldn't ask him anything relating to what she had just been talking about. The only words he had registered were her first ones and her last ones. He gave her hand a quick squeeze, which seemed to suffice as an answer.

"This is where you can both stay tonight," Malon said, waving her free hand at the barn. "There are piles of hay to sleep on, and you can cover them with the horse blankets if you like. You'll find them folded up in the back." She let go of Link's hand, and took a couple steps backwards. "You two should get to bed. Our days start very early around here!"

With a wink and a wave, she walked across the pathway between buildings and stepped inside the small house she shared with her father. Link kept smiling until she shut the door, and then he turned his attention to the barn door. The barn was old, and the door didn't always work without jiggling the handle and throwing your body against it. Thankfully, it opened without too much of a problem, and he walked inside, holding the door open for Dark. Even though there were no light fixtures inside the barn, the moonlight outside provided him just enough light to make out the hay and the horse blankets Malon had been referring to.

"Does your girlfriend always make you sleep in the barn?" Dark growled, walking inside and flopping down on a pile of hay. As his backside made contact with the pile, little bits of hay flew up in the air to cover the already-dirty floor. Link looked at him disapprovingly and closed the door, reaching for one of the horse blankets. It's felt-like material was rough against his skin, but he knew it would provide the warmth he needed for the night.

"She isn't my girlfriend," he corrected, "and I don't mind sleeping in the barn. It reminds me a little of home." He spread out the first blanket on a pile of hay adjacent to Dark's pile, learning from him to set down the blanket gently, and then check to make sure that no stray pieces found their way on top of it.

Dark snorted, completely ignoring the second part of what Link said. "Well, someone should tell her that! 'You're always welcome here, Link! I know you helped our ranch, Link! Of course I'll marry you, Link!'" he mocked, making a fake gagging noise. "Sickening."

Link remained silent, knowing just how wrong Dark really was. He knew that Malon was attracted to him, of course, just like so many others were. But Malon was the closest thing he had to a friend, at least one that didn't have a mane and four hooves. That was why she was the first - and only - person Link had ever told his secret to.

Link had discovered a year ago that he wasn't attracted to women the way people seemed to expect him to be. During the celebration that ensued after his defeat of Ganon, woman after woman had paraded in front of him, trying to catch his attention. But though they all had splendid curves, soulful eyes, and silky hair, Link continually found himself staring at the men in attendance instead. He was much more intrigued by their strong arms, with sharp edges denoting toned muscles. He couldn't drag his eyes away from their loose shirts, hanging from broad shoulders. And a sculpted stomach with toned abs was nicer to look at than even the handsomest of women.

Malon had taken the news surprisingly well, patting him on the arm and telling him that he would make some lucky man very happy one day. But she had also opened his eyes to the danger of telling other people about his preferences. It wasn't that Hyrule was against those thoughts and feelings, really. But he was the Hero of Time. He had certain expectations and obligations that he would need to meet in a few years, mostly related to starting a family. And there was no way that two men could start a family together - no way that two men could give birth to a bundle of hope for the world, a baby with the potential to become Hyrule's next great Hero. It was his duty to Hyrule, to ensure their continued protection from threats. And so he had done as she suggested, and kept it to himself.

Link glanced at the hay pile beside him. He wondered if Dark, being away from society for so long, would have the same reservations the people of Hyrule did where his life, and especially his future romantic choices, were concerned. He could just see the shadow of Dark's outline, traced into the moonlight that shone through the window. His body gently curved over the hay, and as he drifted off to sleep, he looked more peaceful than Link had ever seen him. He was beautiful, in his own way, and as Link stared at him he felt his eyes go heavy and his mind go numb.

The last thought he had before drifting off to sleep was a single question: _What choices would I make in my life if I was free of my obligations and able to just be myself?_ He didn't have an answer yet. But somehow, in some way, he felt that they would still involve Dark.

* * *

It was already light outside by the time that Link woke up, feeling only slightly more refreshed. From the shouting he heard outside, he guessed that the ranch hands had already arrived. They were a noisy, but cheerful, crew, prone to singing songs while they worked.

He slowly opened the door to the barn, looking around before stepping outside. It seemed that the horses were getting their morning exercise; several ranch hands were racing them around the outside of the pen while the others cheered them on. Normally he would watch with them, but he knew that there was probably still time to get breakfast inside if he hurried.

Knocking twice on the door to the house, he opened it in response to a muffled "Come in!". He saw a big man sitting down at the table surrounded by Cuccos, eating a hearty breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs, and waved at him happily.

"Link!" Talon mumbled around the food in his mouth, trying to put down his fork, set aside his napkin, swallow his food, and get up all at the same time. In the end he settled for sticking his hand out, and vigorously shaking Link's when he took it. "Malon told me you were here." He wiped his mouth off with his hand instead of his napkin, and jutted his thumb behind him. "Eggs are on the stove. Have some."

Link walked over and grabbed a cup and plate, serving up a small helping of eggs. "Where is she?" he inquired, grabbing one of the many bottles of Lon Lon Milk on the table and pouring some into his cup. Usually, she would be around to serve him and everyone else at the ranch all the meals for the day, so her absence was surprising.

"She said she had to run down to the market and buy something to help out a visitor. Would you know anything about that?" Link hesitated a moment before responding, putting his fork back down on the table to avoid answering with his mouth full.

"Yes, sir." He always treated Talon with a great deal of respect, since he let him come and go as he pleased. "I brought a friend here to see the ranch, since it's so beautiful here." One thing he could always count on was that Talon and Malon loved getting compliments.

Unfortunately, Talon had focused on a different part of his sentence, and looked at him suspiciously. "A friend? What kind of friend?" He could look rather intimidating when he wanted to, his eyes narrowing into tiny slits, somehow making his mustache stand out larger than life on his face.

"Just a friend!" Link raised his arm in protest, his hand held up in a gesture of truth. "He just needs a place to stay for a couple nights while he gets back on his feet. I'll make sure he does his share of the work!" He gulped down his milk to avoid answering any more questions.

At this, Talon relaxed, chuckling deeply. "Calm down there, Link! For a minute I was worried you brought the Queen herself down for a visit." Continuing to laugh at Link's overreaction, he said "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. As long as he pays his way in chores or cheerfulness, he can stay as long as he likes!"

Link bit the inside of his cheek, trying to hold in his laughter at the thought of Dark 'paying his way' in cheerfulness, as Talon said. Dark was anything but cheerful, and he doubted that his scowl could ever be mistaken as a smile.

"I'm just going to bring some breakfast to him, if you don't mind," he said, grabbing several pieces of toast and piling eggs on top of them. "Then I'll go see if the ranch hands need help with anything."

* * *

Dark woke up with a start at a loud noise outside, forgetting for a moment where he was and why he was there. The sounds of talking and laughter were never heard in the Temple of Light, nor had it ever been this bright or smelled quite so distinct. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of horses and hay intruded on his senses, his memories rushing back to him as he did so. He was free of the temple, and he was staying at a place called Lon Lon Ranch. He was still looking for his brother, and he had accepted the help of a man named Link.

He looked around in confusion, wondering where Link had gone, or if he had even spent the night in the barn with him. The last thing he remembered from the night before was burying himself into the hay pile, so tired that he was able to ignore the prickling sensations that had covered his back and legs. Now that he was awake, he found he could no longer do so, and abruptly sat up.

A swift knock at the door announced Link's return, and Dark eyed it with anticipation. "Dark?" Link called, opening the door. The crack of light that escaped into the barn made Dark wince, and shut his eyes to guard against it.

"Malon is with me. We brought you some breakfast." Link had run into Malon on his way out of the house, riding a lovely mare she had nicknamed 'Berry' and carrying several bags of merchandise from the Castle Town Marketplace. She refused to tell him what was in the bags, but he had a feeling that he would find out later today.

"Shut the door," Dark growled at them, his eyes stinging painfully. He hadn't remembered the sunlight hurting so much earlier, but of course, they had exited the temple while the sun was setting. The light he saw now was the full light of morning, rather than fading twilight.

The absence of light against his eyelids and the soft _slam_ of the door told him that his request had been granted, and he cracked his eyes open to see toast and eggs being offered to him. He hadn't eaten real food in a long time, and the smell made his mouth water. He reached out to accept the food, holding the toast and eggs together to eat them like a sandwich.

"Don't eat too fast," Link cautioned him. "You haven't had anything like this in a long time. If you can keep it down, you can have some more food at lunchtime."

"What, now you're telling me what I can and can't eat?" The words came out muffled from the food in Dark's mouth, but the heavy sarcasm was still evident in his tone. "This is good," he said, all traces of sarcasm gone.

"Thanks!" Malon leaned forward with a huge grin, putting her hand on Link's shoulder. "Daddy always tells me I'm a good cook, but it's nice to have other people confirm it." She watched Dark finish his improvised sandwich with a smile.

"What's in the bag?" Dark asked, pointing at the mysterious package that Malon had brought in with her. It was a tied burlap sack, bulging with several of the items she had purchased at the marketplace that morning.

"It's a surprise!" she told him, reaching over to tug at his outstretched hand, which he yanked away with a horrified look on his face. From what he had observed, Hylians touched each other much more than Sheikah did. It made him a little anxious to get back to his own people.

"Will you two be okay here?" Link asked them, watching the exchange with a slightly worried look. Malon, with her bright and bubbly personality, just wanted to share her happiness with everyone. But Dark, with his withdrawn and sullen nature, would most likely treat that happiness as an infectious disease.

"We'll be fine," two voices told him in unison, one cheerful and one irritated. With a slight chuckle and a nod, Link turned around, opening the door and quickly stepping outside. Whatever Malon's surprise was, it probably wasn't anything that Dark would object to. Or at least he hoped not.

Malon watched the door in anticipation, waiting for it to close. Even though her surprise was for Dark, she was excited to see Link's reaction as well. "That Link," she said, shaking her head as she opened the bag. "I hope he knows how much of a blessing he is to this ranch." She untied the bag, removing what looked like a bundle of black fabric to Dark. As she unfolded it, he realized that it was actually a tunic. She held it up to him and hummed a short melody, taking measurements with her eyes.

"Does he come here often?" Dark finally asked. He was more interested in Link than the tunic at the moment, though he watched both it and Malon's hands nervously.

"Link? Oh yes, he's here quite often. He's so kind, coming over at least once a week when he isn't busy and offering to help with the chores. And he really does them too; even the dirty ones like mucking out the stalls. Imagine, he could have any riches he wants in the world and instead he chooses to spend time at our little ranch. It's a real honor to all of us here."

Dark's interest piqued at the word _riches_. He thought about the glinting gold on Link's tunic and the weapons he carried. Those were not the items of a poor man. Still, there was a big difference between being able to afford things and being able to acquire the riches of the world.

"I do feel a bit sorry for him, to be honest. Having his childhood ripped away like that, only to be thrown into a world of death and despair? But he was the only one that could do something about it, and I think he knows that. I just wish he had at least gotten a chance to rest after it was all over. For the Goddess' sake, it was a terrible time in everyone's lives! Why would they want to commission artwork to remember it by?"

Here Dark had assumed that Link was just some glorified stable hand, at best. But Malon was making him sound like so much more.

"I don't think they really want to remember the world in that way, come to think of it. A lot of them probably just look up to Link. They think if they know more about him, they can advance their lives in a similar manner. He did work his way up from a simple fairy boy to a trusted warrior, after all. It's recognition that a lot of people would want. I don't think he likes it all that much, though. He spends time here whenever he can, and even though our tasks are beneath him he does them without complaint. I think he just likes being treated like a normal person."

Dark was sure that her words were the product of an infatuation. There was no way so many people could look up to Link, even if he did think of himself as being a Hero. But anything was possible, he supposed - after all, Malon had known Link for quite a bit longer than he had.

"Come on," she told him, carefully folding the tunic back up into a square and putting it back in the bag. "There isn't enough light in here. We should go inside the house."

"No," he said, glaring at her. "I'm staying right here." His eyes glanced towards the window, betraying his fear of going outside.

"It's the sunlight, isn't it?" She sounded rather sympathetic, and Dark nodded in response to her kind tone. "I know it's a little bright out there today. It bothers the horses, too. I know!" she said, struck with sudden inspiration. The horses wore blindfolds when they had problems with the light. One would probably work for the short journey Dark needed to make between the barn and the house, too.

She walked forward, grabbing the bottom of Dark's tunic. He cringed, pulling back from her forcefully, but her grip was surprisingly strong for such a petite woman. "Just hold still," she instructed him, holding onto a fistful of fabric in one hand and ripping off a long strip of the material with the other. The fabric tore easily, due to lowered integrity from years of continued use, but still her own strength surprised her.

"Here!" She dangled a strip of his tunic in front of him, ignoring the suspicious look he was giving her. "Put it over your eyes. It will help." When he made no move to do so, she sighed and started to loop the fabric around his head. But to her surprise, he grabbed the fabric, unraveling it just as fast as she could wrap it again.

He may not have been a trusty warrior, and he certainly didn't have people lining up for artwork of him or offering him riches. But he did have the gift of freedom, something that Link had given him. It might hurt him right now to walk outside in full sunlight, but if he was going to live in Hyrule again, he needed to get used to it. And he couldn't do that if he insisted on covering up with a blindfold every time he went outside. This was his choice. And he was making it.

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

If you're in need of a good laugh - when Talon told Link that Dark could pay his way in cheerfulness, I couldn't help but imagine a scowling Dark, throwing pink and yellow daises at everyone that passed by.

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 8: His Own Little Secret**. (It's a working title...I may end up changing it.) Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


	8. His Own Little Secret

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey there! Thought I would post the next chapter before I head out on vacation. Thank you so much for your reviews and kind words, they really lift my spirit!

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8**

 **His Own Little Secret**

* * *

"Zelda," Link whispered into the speaking stone, gently shaking it in front of his face as if the motion would somehow activate it. "Zelda, can you hear me?" Talon's accusation at breakfast had reminded him of the whole reason he had been in the temple in the first place, and it was his duty to inform the Queen of everything that he had discovered.

"Link," her voice came back through the stone as clearly as if she was standing next to him. "It is good to hear your voice." It was good to hear hers too, even if she did sound rather stiff, like she was speaking in a crowded area.

"I explored the area you asked me to," Link told her, pausing as he surveyed the surrounding area. He had ducked into the back building where the cows spent their time so he could have some privacy, but he was still checking through the windows just in case. "I found something you might be interested in."

Though he was met with silence, the stone continued to glow, indicating she was still holding onto hers. After a minute, he heard her voice again, slightly quieter than before. "What did you find?" Though he could hear only her, and not anything or anyone near her, Link guessed she was taking the same precautions he was.

"A building," he said, waiting to hear her reaction. When she said nothing, he elaborated: "The Temple of Light." He still didn't hear anything, so he continued to speak. "It's hauntingly familiar, in more ways than one. It looks a lot like other temples I've visited. And one of Ganon's minions was there…"

"What?" Zelda exclaimed, sounding surprised. "Nothing related to Ganon should have been there!" The glow surrounding the speaking stone that indicated it was in use started to pulse, almost as if the stone was slipping out of her grip and then was retrieved from potentially being dropped.

"I'm not actually sure it was loyal to Ganon…" Link mused, recalling how the Poe must have laid in wait for years, even knowing someone was there, before coming out and attacking them when he and Dark had tried to leave. "But it wasn't loyal to us, that's for sure. Did you know about the temple?" he asked curiously.

"I...yes," Zelda admitted, sounding like she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have. "I knew it had been there at one point. But I was not sure it could still be found."

"Do you know if anyone else knew about it? The Sheikah, perhaps?" Zelda, who was very well-educated about the various areas of Hyrule hadn't even known if the temple was still there. But when Dark had told him about how he came to be there, his parents had definitely been aware of it, and they had seemed very sure of its ability to be found - as long as Dark and his brother were carrying items of magic, that is.

"Some of them may have," Zelda told him, thinking. "But I believe only a handful of people have ever known about it, and that number would be even fewer now. Why do you ask?"

He paused as he realized he would have to tell her about Dark. Once she knew about him, she would want to meet him. And somehow, Link didn't feel that was the best idea at the moment. But beyond being his Queen, Zelda was his friend. Keeping secrets from her was not an option. "I found something else there," he finally said, somewhat reluctantly. "Some _one_ else, actually."

"Someone we know?" Zelda asked with bated breath, fearing the worst. Her wisdom told her that Link had most likely found someone innocent, someone who knew more about the temple than either of them, but she had to check. Just in case.

"No," Link told her, almost hugging the speaking stone to him now. No matter where exactly it was, as long as he was touching it it seemed to work just fine. "I found a Sheikah, by the name of Dark. He says he's been in the temple for years - since the war, actually."

"Link." Zelda cut him off before he could tell her any more about Dark. "The Sheikah all disappeared many years ago - none are left now, save Impa. You know this. I know this. And even if you were to find one, I do not believe there would have been one in that location. Are you sure he is of Sheikah origin?"

"Yes," Link insisted. "He told me that he's a Sheikah. I don't have any reason to doubt him. And his eyes...Zelda, his eyes are red." He knew by the silence that she was starting to believe him.

"When do I get to see this supposed Sheikah?" she asked him, her tone suddenly filled with urgency. "I would very much like to meet him." After all, he was the sole survivor of a mysterious race, and had spent years in a place Zelda hadn't even been sure existed anymore.

He shook his head, holding back a sigh. This was exactly what he had predicted. "He really isn't presentable, Zelda…"

"I could care less how presentable he is, Link. When can you bring him to the castle?" She was too on edge about this to be polite. Zelda felt very connected to the Sheikah, and it was exciting to hear that they may not all have died out.

"Give us a week," Link begged her. "Please. This is the first time he's been outside the temple in a long time. A week from now, I promise to bring him to you." He was not accustomed to Zelda being so demanding; but he was also not used to defending people with only his words, rather than his sword and shield. It felt nice.

"In that case, I will see you both then." Her tone sounded final, and Link was just about to place the stone back around his neck when he heard her again. "And Link?" he looked questioningly at the speaking stone before remembering she couldn't see him. "Thank you."

* * *

"You don't really have any idea who he is, do you?"

Malon was smarter than she looked, that much Dark would give her credit for. He thought he had been doing fairly well. One small question seemed to gain him a ten-minute reply and plenty of clues along the way as he tried to learn more about Link. But one mistake, and she seemed reluctant to say anything else.

It was only a simple question, really, or so he had thought. He just wanted to know how important Link was. After all, Malon had been making him sound very impressive. It was only natural for him to want to know if his companion's supposed fame was only within the confines of this ranch, or if it extended further. But all his question had done was make Malon suspicious. And now she was waiting for an answer.

"I do," he told her spitefully, casting his eyes around the room. He saw markings on the wall to keep track of Malon's height, old chalk drawings in the corners, and many reminders for the forgetful Talon around the room, but nothing that gave him a reasonable guess on Link's true identity.

"Oh, really? Then who is he?" Malon put one hand on her hip, wagging the other at him accusingly. This might not have been quite so intimidating had he not been in the middle of receiving a haircut, and she was not holding a pair of sharp scissors.

"Fine," he said shortly. "You caught me. Just watch where you're waving that thing." He looked pointedly at the scissors, and with a giggle Malon held them still, returning to her examination of his hair.

"Why are you traveling with him, anyway?" It was her turn to ask the questions now. If Dark had really been paying attention to her, he would know almost everything about her life at the ranch, and undoubtedly more about Link than he had wanted him to know, but Malon still knew nothing about him except what Link had told her - that he had fallen on hard times, and needed to spend a couple days here.

"He's helping me look for something." That was an easier answer than the full truth, that Link was the only person he knew in all of Hyrule and that he didn't know his way around, so if he didn't want to get lost he would have to stick with him.

"Must be something special," she said, her scissors coming dangerously close to Dark's ear. When he didn't respond, she decided to change tactics. "You must be a good person. I've seen him help a lot of people before, from all walks of life and for no good reason. But those people all knew him, at least by reputation. He felt obligated to help them because of that. He could have walked away from you - but he didn't."

She was wrong. He was _Dark_. His soul was forever tainted with worry; with pain; with sadness. Maybe he used to be a good person. But the consequences of war had struck his heart too deeply to not leave a mark. "Link is a better person than I could ever be." He doubted she would be able to disagree with that.

"I'm not so sure about that," Malon said, running her fingers through his freshly cut hair. "It seems to me like you're going out of your way to be rude and offensive. If you were really such a terrible person, you wouldn't need to expend that effort. It would come to you naturally."

She spun his chair around, harder than she needed to perhaps, the wooden wheels clacking over the gap between the floor panels. "I might have been able to change your appearance," she told him, ignoring the anger in his eyes as he focused his gaze on her. "But you need to change your attitude towards yourself. Look," she commanded him, tilting his head towards a large, full-length mirror on the other side of the room.

Malon never could have predicted his reaction to his own reflection. He gasped, his hands coming up to poke and prod at his face, his already pale skin seeming to turn an even lighter shade. She had no way of knowing that he hadn't seen an image of himself since he was a small child; that when he looked in the mirror, he didn't see his own face, but his much-older brother's.

"Shadir?" he whispered, pushing himself out of his chair. He stopped, surprised, as the man in the mirror got up out of his chair at the same time he did. He raised his hand. So did his brother. As he walked towards him, the image before him did so as well, matching his exact pace and steps.

"What do you think?" Malon asked, coming to stand beside him. She gently took his arm, guiding him closer to the mirror. "Are you ready to show Link your new look?"

Her words were ignored as Dark leaned in close to the mirror, reaching out to grip it on both sides. So that really was him. Not his brother. He could see it now - his brother's eyes were set a bit wider apart than his were, and his skin was not quite so fair. But there would be no mistaking their family resemblance, if someone were to see them together.

But though the realization that it was his own reflection, and not his brother that he saw, brought him disappointment at first, in time he would be grateful that they looked so much alike. Whenever he would need to remind himself why he had left the temple, or why he would allow himself to be guided around Hyrule by Link, he would just find a mirror. The answer would be right there, staring back at him through his own eyes.

* * *

It had been several hours since Link's conversation with Zelda, and there was still no sign of either Dark or Malon. Malon hadn't told him what her surprise was, just that it would probably take a bit of time. Link had filled up the rest of his day with grooming the horses, milking the cows, and rounding up Cuccos that had escaped from the house. Now, though, it was late in the afternoon, and he was ready for a break.

He leaned against the wall on the far side of the pasture, grateful that the roof overhead was blocking the final glare of sunlight from his eyes. Even the horses seemed tired to him, their playful trots lapsing into slow walks and their tails ceasing to swish even though the insects usually bothered them worse around this time. Fishing around in his pocket, he triumphantly pulled out his ocarina. A song might make them all feel better.

The first three notes were always the easiest, and he practiced those over and over again as he curved his stiff hands around the instrument. It had been a long time since he had played his ocarina, and he wasn't sure he still knew how to cover the holes the right way or blow into the ocarina with the correct amount of pressure. But he was sure he could manage Epona's Song.

Eventually, he could almost hear a continuous echo of the first few notes, and he moved on to play the rest of the song, time seemingly standing still for him as he played. Epona was not the only one to appreciate his music, but she seemed to enjoy it more than the other horses, running to his side to stand with him. He played without a care in the world, lost in the melody of the song. He did not know for how long he played, or how many times, but when he finished he could feel peacefulness take over, and his strength seemed to have returned.

He was startled only a moment later by the sound of clapping. "Oh, Link!" You bring me back to happier times whenever you play that song. It reminds me of my mother, and my childhood. But most of all it reminds me of you, and Epona, and everyone else I care about." Malon swayed gently from side to side, her hands clasped in front of her. He hadn't noticed her arrival, but more importantly he hadn't noticed the arrival of the handsome man beside her. He couldn't help but feel self-conscious about playing the ocarina in front of a stranger, especially one so good-looking.

"I like the song, too," he told her honestly, putting the ocarina back in his pocket and crossing his arms, trying to subtly make sure that his tunic wasn't rumpled and that his belt was properly adjusted. His eyes kept flickering back and forth between Malon and the stranger at her side, and he kept his smile firmly on his face as he wondered if he would be introduced.

"I didn't know you played an instrument," the man drawled, and Link gasped in surprise, dropping his arms to his side and turning his head to stare more obviously at him. He would know that voice anywhere. It belonged to Dark. "Didn't recognize me, did you?" he asked, grinning. He seemed very pleased with Link's reaction, though not as pleased as Malon.

"This was your surprise?" Link asked Malon with a glare, ignoring Dark's question. Not only had he not recognized him, he had mistaken him for a handsome stranger. It was embarrassing, and Malon seemed to be enjoying every second of it. It wouldn't surprise him if she had made him look so good on purpose, just to see him get flustered. She nodded gleefully at him, trying to hold in her laughter at the look on Link's face.

"Doesn't he look great?" She pushed Dark forward, bringing him and Link within inches of each other. She skipped backwards, watching the two intently. They might seem like polar opposites to look at them; one man with blond hair and blue eyes, the other with black hair and red eyes. One was the embodiment of goodness and light, and everything that was right with the world. The other always acted as though there was a storm cloud above his head, blaming himself for everything that went wrong. But though they seemed to contrast, they really weren't all that different. Though Malon didn't know it, they shared many experiences. Both had lost someone they cared deeply about, and were willing to do anything to find them. Both had been away from society for years, only to eventually be thrust back into a world they could never have imagined. But most importantly, both were in need of happiness in their lives; happiness that in time, she hoped they would find the other could provide.

He had to agree with her, Dark did look great. Malon had styled his hair to match Link's, though she had made it a little shorter than his - most likely at Dark's request. He was wearing brand new clothing - a new black tunic that still had the sleeves, breeches that fit properly, and boots that were free of the scuffs his old ones had. The only old piece of clothing he had was his hat, which it seemed Malon had altered so that it fit him better now. His skin, now clean, was revealed to be a smooth, light shade; much lighter than Link's slightly tanned skin. He was still much too skinny, years without proper food giving him an almost beanpole-like stature, but his dark hair against his pale skin gave him too much of a striking appearance to not be considered at least mildly attractive. Now that Link realized who he was, he refused to admit that he could have seen him as anything more than just slightly handsome.

"You must be tired," Link told him, searching for an opportunity to say something, anything, other than how good he was looking. After all, it had been hours, and Dark had probably spent most of it standing as Malon took his measurements, and being pulled this way and that as she made him model his new clothing for her. As if the comment had reminded him about sleeping, Dark tried unsuccessfully to suppress a yawn.

"It has been a long day," he admitted, reaching towards his neck to pull on his hair before remembering it was much shorter now. With nothing else for his hand to do, he tugged at the collar of his tunic, folding the fabric over and over again. "But I'm not tired," he argued, not being satisfied without disagreeing with Link about something.

"Don't you want to go inside, though?" Malon asked him, pointing up at the sky. The bright afternoon sun was long gone, but the sky still lacked the orange color that indicated the sun would be setting soon. "Your eyes…"

"I'm not an invalid," Dark said sourly, cutting her off. "I'm capable of being outside at the exact same times as you, thank you very much." He turned and stalked off in the direction of the barn, his hands curled into fists at his side. He could tell when he wasn't wanted. Apparently, Link and Malon just wanted to be alone with each other. That didn't surprise him one bit.

Link sighed. He had heard that the Sheikah were a fiery race of people, strong and willful, with a temper that you didn't want to be on the wrong side of. But Impa was the only true member of the Sheikah he had ever known, and by the time they met she was old enough to have learned the value of remaining calm.

"He seems like he can be a bit of a handful," Malon said to him, sitting down on the grass and gesturing for Link to come sit next to her. "But I'm sure he'll come around."

"It's not that," Link told her, sitting down and stretching his legs out in front of him. "People are nice to me all the time. I never know if it's because they want to be, or they feel they have to be. Every interaction I've had with almost everyone in Hyrule this past year has felt fake. But Dark doesn't know who I am, so I know every moment with him is real." These days, he appreciated people being rude and honest over acting kind and lying about why.

"About that…" Malon said with a nervous giggle, causing Link to look at her sharply. "I might have told him something. More than one something, actually. I didn't tell him who you were!" She put her hand up, swearing her innocence. "I just assumed that he already knew, and might have let a couple things slip. I'm really sorry, Link…" She felt especially terrible now that she realized how much keeping Dark blind to his identity meant to him.

"It's okay," he said, and he meant it. "He would start to suspect something soon enough, anyway." There was no way he would be able to bring Dark all the way to the castle without him suspecting that he was more than a simple Hylian boy who played at being Hero. "I have to bring him to see Zelda next week."

Malon looked at him sadly, understanding now the reason for his melancholy. His friendship with Zelda was one that could never truly be; their respective responsibilities had frequently forced them to keep secrets from each other and most of their communications with each other had become part of public record. And now, whatever growing friendship he might be building with Dark also risked becoming public knowledge, if he were to be thrown into that mix.

He sighed again, withdrawing his Ocarina from his pocket once more. Sitting in silence with a friend was nice, but playing music was better. His fingers traced over the holes on the instrument as he picked out his song; his tongue raced over his lips to prepare them for playing. "Link?" Malon interrupted him. "It would be best if he heard it from you. Not the Queen."

In silence, he raised his Ocarina to his lips, a melodic combination of notes ringing out through the field. This was a song he had written himself; a tune he called the Song of Healing. _I know_ , it seemed to say. _I know_.

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 9: No Place Like Home**. Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


	9. No Place Like Home

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Thank you so much for the lovely reviews (and the cookie)! I actually do a lot of field research for this story, some of which has included nighttime sword battles in my local park and morning trips to the archery lanes. So I find it incredibly inspiring to hear that the work I put into this is appreciated. Also, I see I have quite a few new followers, so welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

By the way, I now have a YouTube Channel. I only have two videos so far, both AMVs for the Pokemon fandom, but check it out if you're interested. You might have to get around country blocks to watch one of them, just saying. I refuse to compromise the quality of my audio.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9**

 **No Place Like Home**

* * *

It had been seven days since Link's conversation with Zelda. Seven days that the Queen had spent pacing the halls of Hyrule Castle. Seven days that Link had spent helping out at the ranch. Seven days that Dark had spent getting acclimated to life outside the temple. Seven days that the Hero of Time and the Sheikah spent getting to know each other. Seven days Link had spent avoiding telling Dark about their inevitable journey to the castle.

"Where are we going?" Dark grumbled, irritated by what had seemed like a last-minute decision to head back out into Hyrule. He knew that they couldn't stay at Lon Lon Ranch forever, but he would have preferred more of a warning that they were leaving.

"I need to pick up a few supplies," Link replied evasively. He had decided to make a stop in Kakariko Village before returning to the castle. After all, he could always use more potions, and the best ones were made in Kakariko. But he knew he wouldn't have made a side trip had he not been travelling with Dark, or had they not been going to see the Queen.

"From where?" Dark tried again to ask where they were going. The landscape around Hyrule seemed unfamiliar to him, even though he knew he would have passed through here years ago. He could see two walled structures ahead; one of which resembled a castle. "From the castle?" he inquired.

Link froze momentarily, wondering if someone on the ranch had mentioned their trip to Dark. But that wouldn't be possible. Malon was the only one who knew about Zelda's request. "Why do you ask?" he countered. In response, Dark pointed to the drawbridge that was visible up ahead. It rested over a man-made moat, separating the structure it belonged to from the rest of the land.

To someone who wasn't familiar with Hyrule, it would be easy to mistake the city for a large castle. With its high walls and unique architecture, he had to admit it was severely misrepresented. As a child, Link had remembered being surprised when he had found people and buildings behind those walls, instead of marble floors and statues. But the path they were currently on, while winding down towards the drawbridge, turned to a different bridge as soon as they got there, one that would lead them to the base of Kakariko Village.

"We're actually going there." Link pointed at the staircase to Kakariko Village, so far away that he could barely sort out the steps from the surrounding landscape. "The building over there isn't actually a building at all, it's the walls surrounding Castle Town, the most well-known city in Hyrule. The castle is located there, though. I could take you to see it, if you like." Things would be much easier for him if he had an excuse to take Dark there.

"Sure," Dark responded, shrugging his shoulders. It didn't really matter one way or another to him. Though his re-entry into the world felt like a release from prison in some ways, it also felt a bit like visiting a foreign land. He didn't know anything about Hyrule, so he needed to rely on Link. Anywhere he wanted to go was fine with him - at least for now.

Link breathed a sigh of relief. "We can go there as soon as I get my supplies," he said silently thanking the Goddesses for the good fortune they had bestowed upon him. "I think you'll -"

"Where are we going?" Dark interrupted him, only slightly aware that he had already asked that once before. The more he stared at their destination, the more he realized that the area ahead looked very familiar to him. He felt like he had seen that staircase before - had climbed down it before. But it was a long time ago, and he couldn't be sure unless he heard a name.

"I told you, to buy supplies." Link paused, realizing that he was taking a stricter tone with Dark than he meant to. "Kakariko Village. The prices are better and the people are friendlier than they are in the Castle Town marketplace."

Dark froze in his tracks. He knew that name. Kakariko. It was the same name that Link had given him when he asked where he had gotten his lens of truth, and now pairing the name with the area up ahead, he felt sure he had heard it mentioned in his childhood as well. He started walking again, the knowledge filling him with determination as he tried to catch up with Link. Part of what had made him so reluctant to leave the temple was that as long as he was in there, it was like everything he had known was in a time capsule. Leaving the safety of the temple meant that there was a chance he would find out the places he had known would no longer exist. But here it was, proof that at least one place he was familiar with was still around. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

* * *

When they finally reached the top of the staircase, Dark stopped and stared in awe at the entryway to the village, flanked by guards on either side. Ever since Kakariko had been taken over by many of the old marketplace shops, they had requested extra security at the entrance. As always, the village was bustling with color, a mix of residential homes and businesses that were all family-owned and operated. It was always an impressive sight, and was even more impressive if you weren't expecting it.

Link strode forward, leaving Dark to gape at the village alone. "Sir!" the guards shouted as he approached, both standing to attention as he walked through the gate. He was easily recognized in this part of Hyrule, something that was just as much as a burden sometimes as it was a blessing.

"At ease," he told them, waving his hand lazily at them as he walked through the gate. They both relaxed, their faces breaking out into cheerful grins as they exchanged a glance behind him. Today, they would be able to go home and tell their families that they had spoken to the Hero of Time.

"What was that all about?" the low growl of Dark's voice startled him, and he stopped and looked at him questioningly. He thought he had left him behind at the stairs. "Are you some kind of soldier, or something?"

"Or something," Link repeated in a low murmur, purposely not giving Dark any information. He walked through the village, smiling and nodding at a small group of people gathered around the tree. They all smiled and waved at him, happy to see him in their village.

"Your girlfriend told me you were important," Dark commented, strolling beside him as they headed towards the potion shop. Dark's incorrect assumption about the relationship between him and Malon, and his not-so-subtle requests about his identity, had been mentioned every day at Lon Lon Ranch, and Link was getting a little tired of it.

"Everyone's important in their own way." Link prided himself on his ability to dodge questions, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it up. He was happy to evade questions and answer with half-truths, but if Dark was going to be persistent, at one point he would end up telling an outright lie. That wasn't really something he wanted to do, especially not when he knew there was no way he could hide his being a Hero from the man much longer.

He was just turning towards the staircase on his left, when he noticed Dark had stopped walking. He was standing close to the tree in the center of the village, his eyes focused up towards the windmill. He knew without a doubt that he had been here before. He hadn't seen it in a very long time, of course. But he remembered standing in almost this exact same spot at the moment his life was torn apart.

* * *

 _"Mother!" Dark cried out at the disappearing figures of his parents. "Father!" It was not long before he couldn't see them at all. They had been lost in the swirling sea of color that was the crowd surrounding them; a throng of people running back and forth in an effort to fight off the freezing chill in the air. All around them, screams were erupting as people panicked in the confusion of the war, and Dark could feel his own heart quickening in response to the noises he heard._

 _"Shh, it's okay." Shadir had never seen himself as a very good role model for his little brother, but he had to try now. He was all that Dark had left. "We're going on a special adventure, just you and me." He knelt down so that he and Dark were at eye level, trying not to focus on the small pile of snow that his left knee had found, and how the only warmth he felt was between him and the pack on his back. "What do you think about that?"_

 _"An adventure?" Dark questioned, his eyes still sorting through the people in an effort to spot his parents. His eyes grew wider and wider in fear with each scream that came from ahead, and he shuddered in response to the cold, his breath coming out in small puffs of air._

 _"That's right!" Shadir put on a false smile and an enthusiastic tone. "We're going exploring for real." Dark often liked to pretend he was an explorer, seeking out new life forms and ancient pieces of history. "We'll be gone for a really long time, but it will be lots of fun. And I won't be telling you when to go to bed or anything." There was nothing Dark hated more than having to turn in for the night. "So what do you say?"_

 _"Yeah!" Dark said enthusiastically. He slipped his small, gloved hand into Shadir's, the panic he felt quelling he stared up at the smiling face of his brother. The chaos surrounding them wavered in and out of focus, the screams of the people becoming longer, but less frequent._

 _"Look up there." Shadir directed his attention to the direction their family had entered the village from, pointing at a wooden structure with several large panels arranged in a circle near the top. "Do you see that? That's called a windmill. Do you know what windmills are for?" Now was as good a time as any to begin educating his little brother._

 _"They turn air into energy," Dark stated proudly, puffing his chest out as if he had just answered the hardest question in the world._

 _"Very good!" Shadir told him, genuinely pleased about his knowledge. "But this windmill is a special windmill, and it has another purpose than to just convert air. Do you know what that is?"_

 _Dark scrunched up his face, deep in thought about his brother's question. "No," he said at last, sadly. To him, it just looked like an ordinary windmill._

 _"It's a symbol of our home." The statement was not exactly true, of course, as they couldn't even see the windmill from their village. But if Dark were to ever return home without him, it did mark the way there. "Whenever you see it, know that home lays just beyond it, waiting for you."_

 _"Okay!" Dark told him cheerfully. The significance of Shadir's words would not hit him until he was older, facing the possibility of coming home without him._

 _"Good." Shadir gave his brother a hug, shielding him from the chill in the air and the surrounding noises of the crowd. He knew he wouldn't be able to protect him forever, but at least he could right now. "Let's go," he told him, releasing him from his arms and turning towards the gate that lead out of the village. "We have a long journey ahead of us."_

 _They walked in silence, threading their way through the crowd. Dark grasped Shadir's hand tightly, afraid of losing him among the throngs of people. "Just you and me?" He asked, squeezing particularly hard as if reassuring himself his brother was still there._

 _"That's right, buddy. Just you and me."_

* * *

"Dark! Come on!" He blinked in confusion as Link's voice startled him out of his thoughts. He could once more feel the warmth of the sunlight beating down on him, and the terrified screams of the villagers were replaced with laughter. But wherever Link wanted him to go right now, he knew he couldn't follow. There was somewhere else he needed to go. Something else he needed to see.

"Have you ever gone over the ridge there?" Dark pointed up towards the old windmill. Even after all this time, it was still turning in time with what Link had dubbed "The Song of Storms." He was sure that Guru-Guru was still living inside the windmill too, playing the Phonograph faster and faster in an attempt to reset the events that had led to the well being drained. But those efforts, as always, were in vain. It had only been through a twist of fate that the well had been drained, and it would take another to return it to its former glory.

"You mean past the windmill?" Link asked. Dark nodded in response. "It's just the graveyard. And the Shadow Temple," he added as an afterthought.

"No." Dark was very adamant. "That doesn't sound right. What about the area beyond those? What's there?" He had scattered memories of passing through places that gave him the chills as his family left their home, places that could have easily been this graveyard and Shadow Temple.

Link hadn't realized there was anything beyond the reaches of the Shadow Temple. He knew that there were trees up above him when he stood in the graveyard, but he had always assumed they cut off at the walls of the temple. "I don't know," he admitted. "I've never actually gone that way."

"Well then what are you waiting for? Let's check it out." Dark ran up the stairs and past the well, turning left and disappearing behind the rows of houses. Startled by his invitation, Link followed him, noticing that Dark was staring at the fence that was blocking off the ladder. "I hope you can climb," he said as Link approached.

"I can," Link started to reply. "But there's an easier…" he trailed off as he noticed Dark had already jumped on the fence. He shrugged, preparing to climb up it himself. They could both use the exercise, anyway.

Even though Dark had started climbing first, Link found himself finished with the task before him, and threw himself over the top of the fence. "Where to?" he asked, grinning at Dark. He was climbing in a style Link could only label as careful, tucking his feet into each hole and readjusting his grip on the fence after every step.

"The ladder." Dark's answer was short and perfunctory, his breath coming out in concentrated huffs as he kept climbing. Link smiled as Dark finally dropped to the ground, accompanied by much cursing. Falling with style was an art that he obviously hadn't perfected yet. "You first," Dark said gruffly, wiping himself off.

Link started climbing up the ladder, much slower than he was able to scale the fence. Even though he was more accustomed to climbing ladders, this particular ladder was rather tall and had less support overall than the fence, which in some ways made it more intimidating. "And I assume we'll need to climb the fence up here, as well?" he called down to Dark, wanting to know before he reached the top.

"There's another one?" Dark groaned, and then sighed. He hadn't remembered there being so many obstacles in the way. "Yes. But this time...do you think I could use that longshot you have?"

* * *

Dark may have been lagging behind on all the climbing portions, but now that they were among the trees he was far ahead of Link. Dark had quickly become adept with the longshot, and now he was seemingly obsessed with using it, launching himself from tree to tree. Link, moving on foot, wasn't able to go nearly as fast.

As he walked further and further away from the village and the graveyard, moving even beyond the extensive depth of the Shadow Temple, he began to feel a song in his heart. It was resonating all around him, through all the plant life in the area. He recognized it instantly - it was Saria's Song; the song that united all places the Lost Woods touched and carried happiness wherever it went. Now he, too, was nearly flying through the trees, running faster and faster trying to find the source of the song.

It was then that he heard a yell, the sound piercing through song like a blade through his heart. He only knew one person who could make a noise like that.

"Dark!" he ran towards the direction the yell had come from, only to find himself stopping short at the edge of a cliff. He could hear shouting from below, and carefully peered over the edge. Dark was down there, sprawled on the ground near the side of the cliff as if he had just fallen. "Are you hurt?" he yelled down, noting the edges of rocks and shrubbery that had managed to find a place to grow. He couldn't hear Dark's response, but he could just make out his arm waving up at him.

Link gritted his teeth, knowing he would have to go down there, too. Dark seemed to be okay, but he probably wasn't going to make it back up without Link's help. Standing at the edge, he surveyed the area, noticing a patch of soft looking grass a bit more towards the right. There only appeared to be two bits of greenery in the way, and no rocks. Angling towards it, he dived off the cliff, rolling his body as he reached the ground. He had fallen many times before, both off short ledges and cliffs roughly the size of this one, so he had perfected his landing. He stood up, rubbing his neck. Perfect landing or not, it still took a toll on him.

"Are you hurt?" he repeated, looking over at Dark. Now that he was closer, he could see that the man was not physically injured, but something seemed to have grabbed his attention off in the distance. Link turned to look in that direction, noticing houses with flat roofs all lined up in a row. Something about them seemed haunting, yet inviting, and he felt the urge to go explore them.

"Link," Dark said, his voice trembling. "I'm home."

* * *

There was something about the air around them, Link decided. It seemed to almost stand still, like no had been around to stir it up in quite some time. It seemed abnormally quiet, too - no wind, no animals, no Saria's Song. Just silence. And as he and Dark walked over the packed dirt roads, looking at the untouched and falling apart houses, Link knew - this area had been abandoned.

"It's been so long…" Dark said, either not noticing or not caring that there were no signs of life from any of the houses or other structures. "I never thought I would see it again." He sounded almost on the verge of tears, but Link couldn't tell if they were from sorrow or joy.

"Which one was yours?" Link asked, staring with mild interest at the houses. They were very different from the houses he had seen in Kakariko Village and Castle Town. Most of those had been built out of stone, had a door both in the front and the back, and had high, sloping roofs. But the houses here used both stones and wood, with roofs that were flat and were made from natural items. Some seemed to have the remains of a garden on them, others were just dried grass. Also, the houses Link had seen before had been randomly placed, sometimes leaving a lot of space between the houses or none at all. Here, the houses were all lined up in a neat little row on either side of the road, just far enough away from their neighbor to have their own space, but too close to really consider the front yard theirs and theirs alone.

"Down there," Dark said, pointing at where the road took an abrupt turn to the left. "The house on the corner." Link peered into the distance, trying to pick out one house from another. As he got closer, the house came into view better. It was constructed with a light grey stone, cut into blocks to almost resemble a brick house. Twigs and other branches that appeared naturally broken were bordering the foundation. The roof had probably been a very pretty garden at one point, but had become overrun with weeds. There were vines creeping up the side of the stone, covering small square windows and cracking the glass in a couple places.

"It's...nice," Link told him, surveying it. He was sure it had been nice before it was abandoned, anyway.

"It doesn't usually look like this," Dark informed him, pushing past him to open the door. "Must be some new trend. It seems most of our neighbors have let the outside of their houses go completely out of control, too."

Link shook his head, standing behind Dark as he wrestled with the door. So he had noticed the sorry state of affairs in this village. He was just in denial. "Maybe it's locked?" he inquired, noticing that Dark was pulling on the door hard and nothing was happening.

"It's never been locked before," Dark stated, tugging with all his might and then beating at the door, as if hoping someone would come and let him in.

"It has been...how long?" Link asked, attempting to hide his curiosity. He still had so many questions about Dark's time in the Temple of Light, and how long he had been there was one of them.

Dark sighed, turning to face him. "I haven't been here since I was six years old." A sort of half-smile crossed over his face, disappearing quickly as he realized how many years he really had been there. "So it's been 18 years, now," he said softly, turning around to face the door again. "I can't believe I wasted 18 fucking years of my life in that place." Feeling a sudden surge of anger, he yanked at the door again, this time managing to pull it open.

Math had always been a difficult subject for Link. He could do it easily enough, if given enough time, but number over ten always posed challenges when he was attempting to count on his fingers. He held up all of his fingers once. 10. Then he held up all but two. 8. He had done the calculation for 18. What was the other number Dark had mentioned. Six? He counted out two more. 20. "Three...Four...Five...Six." he muttered under his breath, looking at the number of fingers he had up. Four. So Dark was 24 years old - a whole four years more than him.

Unaware of Link's mathematical quest, Dark walked into the house, a chill of cold air greeting him as he walked in. He coughed, his eyes watering. The air was very stale, like the house had been shut for a long time. It didn't feel right to him, but he ignored it. Link had a good point, after all. It had been a long time since he was last here.

"Mother?" he called as he walked through the house. "Father?" The house was on the dim side, with most of the windows being blocked by vines and no lights on inside. "Anyone?" The house was larger than most village houses, with multiple rooms branching off from the main room and long hallway. Link stood in the doorway, unsure if he should go in or not. But as he poked his head in the door, he noticed something hidden in plain sight that he just couldn't ignore.

It was a small treasure chest, grey in color just like the stone walls of the house. It was nestled in among things in what would have been a well-stocked kitchen, at the time. It was hidden in a small alcove in the wall, behind several bottles containing spices. Most people would have overlooked it - they would have just seen the spice bottles, and moved on. But Link had a keen eye for treasure. Not many things got past him.

"Dark?" he called, stepping into the house. As much as he wanted to go over and look at the treasure chest, he didn't want to open it without permission.

"In here," the soft reply came from somewhere near the back of the house. Unfortunately, Link wasn't quite sure where 'here' was, so he continued walking, looking through the open doorways of all the rooms as he walked by. The house looked like it would have been a fun place to grow up - there were toys on the floor, artwork on the walls, and all sorts of things that would catch people's interest. But what Link noticed most about the house was how normal everything seemed. There were still a lot of items out and spread around the house, gathering dust. It occurred to Link that this was not the scene that someone would leave if they knew they were going elsewhere for a while. The last people to leave this house had left with the intention to come back.

As he approached what he assumed was the last room in the house, he found Dark standing near a window, looking down at the table. The window let a surprising amount of light into the room, and remained relatively untouched by the vines. Link assumed that when Dark lived here, this had been his room. It was filled with things that a child might find intriguing, and the main color in the room was blue. He walked over to stand next to Dark, their shoulders brushing against each other as Link looked down at the table that seemed to captivate his companion so.

"A pictograph?" Link said in surprise. Pictograph Boxes were very rare, and not many people owned one. Most people who wanted pictures of their families would hire a professional artist to come paint them. But this was a small, smooth scrap of paper with slightly rounded corners, and the image definitely was not painted on.

"Yeah," His voice sounded flat, like he was forcing back his feelings. "We took it about a year before the war really impacted us." Link stared down at the smiling faces of Dark's family. It was a shock for him to see Dark so young and happy. He was slightly bent over, his eyes shut tight with a smile on his face; forever frozen in laughter. He was holding onto the hand of another Sheikah, who Link could only assume was Shadir. He was facing straight ahead, but his eyes were focused on his brother, his smile meant more for him than the pictograph. He looked much as Dark did now; black hair, pale skin, and bright red eyes, but unlike Dark he was sporting a small red earring in his right ear.

Link touched his own earring as he looked at the picture. In all his travels around Hyrule, he had never met another man who wore one. Dark gasped, noticing the position of Link's hand. Somehow, he had failed to notice the small blue earring before. "What?" Link asked, still absentmindedly playing with the earring. In response, Dark simply pointed.

"This?" Link said, tapping at it. "I know. It does look a lot like his, doesn't it?" Though his earring was blue, and Shadir's was red, they were both small rings, with the same unusual thickening of the ring as it reached towards the back of the ear.

"You're not a Sheikah," Dark told him bluntly. The piercing of a single ear was a Sheikah tradition, done when a man came of age. He didn't have one himself; when he reached the proper age he was still inside the Temple of Light. But Link shouldn't have had one either - unless he was a Sheikah, or was highly respected by them as a community.

Link looked at him nervously, recalling that Zelda had mentioned to him once that he should continue to wear the earring, to pay honor to a culture long forgotten. That culture must have been the Sheikah culture. But it hadn't been his decision to get his ear pierced - it had been done to him during his seven-year-long sleep. "Sorry…" he began to apologize, assuming that he had offended Dark in some way.

"Don't be," Dark said, regarding him with the smallest amount of respect. "It suites you." With a smile, Link tucked his hair behind his ear. He had made an effort in the past to always keep his earring covered, but he didn't feel like he needed to do that now.

"Are these your parents?" he asked, in an effort to change the subject. He looked down at the other two people in the pictograph, who were standing behind Dark and Shadir. A man with shortly cropped white hair and a crooked nose stood next to a woman with long, dark hair and kind eyes. Their arms were crossed, presenting a united front to their photographer. "You look a bit like them, you know."

Dark raised a hand to his face, feeling his features as if for the first time. "Shadir always looked more like them than I did," he said rather sadly, forgetting that only last week he had mistaken himself for his brother in the mirror. "I wonder if they would mind if I took this with me." He picked up the pictograph, running his fingers over the curved corners. He flipped it over, reading out the information on the back. "Summer, 1987. Family portrait. Akrim, Nadia, Shadir, and…" he paused, his free hand curling into a fist. "And Dark." All traces of happiness were gone from his voice. He shoved the pictograph in his pocket, not even taking care to make sure the edges didn't get crushed. "Come on, let's get out of here. No one's home. Doubt they would remember me anyway."

He stormed through the hallway, heading for the door which Link had left open. Obviously the pictograph had touched a nerve. But Link couldn't even begin to think about what Dark was going through right now. He had never even known his own family, so he was in a poor position to try and empathize with someone who had just lost theirs.

"Wait up!" he called, jogging to catch up with Dark. As he entered the kitchen, he glanced around and then sighed, grabbing hold of the chest. He was just going to open it. It wasn't like he hadn't opened random treasure chests in people's houses without their permission before - and he only took treasure that he felt would be really important.

He reached forward with one hand, undoing the latch carefully. Despite not having been opened in years, it moved with ease, popping the lid of the chest open slightly. He bent over it, using both hands to gently move the lid the rest of the way. Peering inside, he backed away in surprise. It was empty. He removed his hands, letting the lid fall with a soft bang. That couldn't be right. He had to check again. Opening the lid with one hand, he propped it open and then reached into the bottom of the treasure chest. There was something there. He could feel it. He just couldn't see it.

It felt like a scroll. He picked it up gingerly by the edges, making sure there was nothing else on or around it before doing so. As he lifted it out of the chest, it became clearer to him. It looked rather like a map, actually. And it had torn edges, just like the one Dark had shown him in the temple. Could this be how Dark's parents knew of the existence of the Temple of Light?

Tucking it into his belt, he exited the house, closing the door gently behind him. At first, he thought Dark was on his way out of the village, but a short laugh brought his attention to the side of the house, where Dark sat looking up at the sky. One leg was straight out in front of him, but the other one was bent underneath him and his hands were resting idly in his lap.

"I should have known," he said. "I should have known from the moment you said you had never explored in this direction before. A seasoned traveler like you never having heard of Eldin? I'm surprised the village was even still standing."

"I never said I hadn't heard of it," Link said, assuming that 'Eldin' was the name of the village they were currently in.

"Have you?" Dark asked, looking like he already knew the answer.

"Well...no," Link admitted, feeling bad for mentioning it.

"Didn't think so." Dark snorted with derision. "Not that I'm surprised. Eldin always was the name in the shadows. But it isn't fair. Kakariko gets to grow into this wonderful village, and Eldin has all but faded from people's memories." He got up, putting his hands in his pockets and shuffling away from his house, head facing down towards the ground. Link thought that he could detect just the slightest hint of sadness in Dark's voice, nestled amongst the anger. "Maybe it's better that way."

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

A couple chapters back I had asked if you had any questions about Dark's time in the temple or the Temple of Light itself; if so, now is the time to submit them! I anticipate answering them in the next chapter, but don't worry, if you're reading this too late there may be opportunities in the future to ask as well.

By the way, I'm not sure if there was ever a year attached to Hyrule, so I gave it one of our years. For my story, I assume Link is 12 years old in 1998, when the game was released in America. That means he was born in 1986, and Dark was born in 1982. If the photo was taken the year before Dark left for the temple, he was five years old, so it would have been taken in 1987. Just for anyone who's curious.

I just also wanted to mention that the song _Who Taught You How To Hate_ by Disturbed was a huge inspiration for this chapter. They're my favorite band, and this story as a whole was inspired by another one of their songs, so if you're into Rock / Metal at all I definitely recommend you check them out!

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 10: The Hero of Legend** (another working title). Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


	10. The Hero of Legend

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

It's been an insane couple weeks for me...where do I even begin...my car transmission crapped out & I ended up buying a brand new car as a result, my credit card number was stolen, one of my best friends is moving out of state, I've been making a gazillion glitter magnets for a craft fair that my office is hosting...oh, yes, and I'm hitting that super ridiculously busy time at work that leaves me working 8am to 6pm with no break every day. That'll continue until mid-December, folks, so hang tight. I'll do my best to push out updates when I can.

Also, a (probably very) late thank you for putting this story in a community! It means a lot! I hadn't actually checked out my stats page in some time, so I completely missed it until now, but I do appreciate it. And as always, thank you for your reviews and continued support!

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10**

 **The Hero of Legend**

* * *

It wasn't a very long walk from Kakariko Village to the castle, but Link seemed perfectly content to stroll along at the slowest pace possible. Dark followed a short distance behind him, trudging through the long grass in silence. Being back home had made him realize what a different person he was now. It was almost as if he had seen things through someone else's eyes - someone who had happy memories and lighter thoughts than Dark had. And for a short while after he had caught sight of the village, he had actually been that person.

But now that he had left Eldin, he felt the reality of everything come crashing down around him. His brother was gone, his home had been abandoned, and his parents were most likely dead. All the people he had ever known were missing, and there was a good chance he would never see them again. He couldn't help but want to crush that ignorant person who had so casually strolled inside his house and called out to his parents, who had fooled him into thinking that everything could go back to the way it was.

Without a better target, his rage finally settled on Link. His optimism had only helped to further Dark's denial. As they were leaving, he had turned around at the edge of the village, looking back at it with an unreadable expression. The unexpected breeze had picked up his silky blond hair, throwing it backwards to reveal high cheekbones and perfectly pointed ears. And then, his lips cracked wide open into a smile, and he said "Let's make this place as glorious as it used to be. We can fix up the houses, and build a new community while still honoring the old. Just you and me, together."

The worst part about it all is that he actually wanted Link's help. When he stood there, expressing his desire to rebuild the community, he made Dark feel like they really could accomplish it together. The more time he spent with him, the more he found himself drawn to Link's inner strength, hope, and confidence - and he was starting to hate him for it.

"Are you ready to leave?" Link asked, pointing up at the gate ahead. He had taken his time helping Dark back up the cliff, walking through the forest, climbing the fence, buying potions, and leaving Kakariko, just to give Dark some time to process the abandoned village that he had once called home.

Dark shot him an angry glare. "More ready than you, apparently." He spit out the words with disgust, increasing the pace of his steps and sweeping his arm sideways to push past Link. Everyone within sight of the pair stared as Dark's arm solidly made contact with Link's chest. Their expressions betrayed their shock at the exchange, not understanding how someone could treat their precious Hero that way.

"Hey!" The objection came from a large man wearing a blue vest, someone that looked vaguely familiar to Link though he couldn't quite place where he had seen him before. "You can't do that!" the man shouted at Dark's retreating form. In response, Dark made a very rude hand gesture, not even looking back as he did so. Link clapped his hand to his face and groaned. Someone would have to tell Dark he couldn't do that if he wanted to be accepted by society, and that someone was going to have to be Link.

"It's okay…" Link said rather blankly, unable to remember the man's name.

"Jiro," the carpenter supplied helpfully, still glaring hatefully in Dark's direction. He remembered the man now; he was one of the carpenters he had rescued from the Gerudo.

"It's okay, Jiro," he said, glancing at Dark. "We're friends. He's just having a rough day."

Jiro nodded, his expression speaking volumes. "You just let me know if he gives you any trouble." He began to mutter angrily, then stopped as he realized he was still in front of Link. "I'll take care of him for you if he ever does!"

Link scolded himself as he mentally laughed at the thought. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself - Jiro would have run away like a little girl at more than half the things he had to face. "I appreciate it," he said with a polite smile, taking a step backwards. Jiro looked to be occupied with his muttering once again, so he took the opportunity to slip away, sprinting after Dark.

"Dark! Hey, slow down!" he caught up with him outside the village, running down the stairs two at a time to eventually fall in line beside him. His newly bought potions clinked together every time he moved his leg, and he couldn't decide if he was more annoyed or grateful for the sound breaking up what undoubtedly would have been an awkward silence.

"Why?" Dark asked him bitterly as they reached the bottom of the staircase. "So you can scold me for my behavior? I'm not blind, Link. That entire village looked at me like I was a monster." Even Epona, now in plain sight by the tree they had left her near, seemed to be staring at him with apprehension.

"You're not a monster," Link tried to console him. "You just can't be so rude. Personally, I don't care. But other people do." Hyrule could be a standoffish kind of place, if you got on the wrong side of people.

"Did you ever think that maybe I just don't know how to treat people anymore?" Dark sounded annoyed, letting all his rage pool out of him. "And did you ever consider that maybe, I don't care?" He turned around and took several steps towards the tree, reaching out and abruptly yanking on Epona's reins to get her moving. She dug her heels in at the sudden pull, refusing to budge even an inch.

"Look, now you've upset Epona." Link grabbed the reins back from him, looking a little disgruntled. He approached her from the side, gently petting her mane and whispering softly to her to calm her down.

"Seems like that's all I'm good for," Dark said, crossing his arms and looking at the ground. "First I upset the villagers, then I upset Epona, and now I've upset you." Which, for some reason, upset him too.

Link moved forward, prompting Dark to look up and into his eyes. "You're just a bit rough around the edges. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It just isn't something Hyrule is used to." Hyrule was still recovering from one of the more terrifying events in its long history, and someone like Dark, that did things without thinking and said whatever came to his mind, wasn't necessarily what they needed right now. But he couldn't judge a whole world's reaction based on Dark's time at Lon Lon Ranch and his short exposure to Kakariko Village. "Try and treat other people the way you want them to treat you. If it would upset you, then it would upset other people. You're not as different from the rest of us as you might think."

Dark could feel his lips tugging into a small smile in spite of his bad mood. It had been a long time since someone had tried to give him a lesson on manners. "Nothing upsets me." One of his finer lies, if he did say so himself. "I think the rule should be something more like, don't threaten a soldier."

"Soldier?" Link asked blankly, before realizing Dark was most likely referring to him. "Well, that too, I suppose." It wasn't bad advice, actually, if he wanted to avoid being thrown in the castle's surprisingly extensive dungeon.

"Where to now?" Dark asked him, hoping that he would simply drop the conversation. He was still mad at Link, and therefore not inclined to seek his advice on his manners and behavior - not that he would be even if he was in a wonderful mood.

In response, Link took Epona's reins and begin walking forward. His silence was a better reply than anything he could have said. After all, it didn't matter where they were going - Dark would follow anyway.

* * *

It was a very unimpressed Dark that later stood with Link at the back of the marketplace, staring at the abrupt change from cobblestone streets and stone walls to a dirt path placed in a sloping valley. The surrounding area still had a lot of improvements to be made, after its transformation in the hands of Ganon, but it was coming along nicely. "I can't believe you actually brought me here," he said, distinctly unamused.

"I told you I would," Link said. "Besides, haven't you always wanted to see the castle? Most people in Hyrule dream of this their entire lives!" The sour expression on Dark's face told Link that hadn't been one of his dreams, but regardless, they walked around the bend, to face the merge of beauty and destruction that the castle had become.

"Back so soon?" the guard at the entry gate joked when he saw Link. Zelda had decided to keep the bridge erected by the magic of the sages as the new main entrance to the castle, rendering the gate nearly inactive, but she still liked to have someone outside to keep an eye on things.

"Forgot something," Link told him, shrugging his shoulders and grinning at the guard. His response elicited a chuckle from the man, who waved him and Dark on through without asking any more questions.

"How did you do that?" Dark hissed at him, looking incredulously at his companion. He was starting to form a theory about Link's real identity, something that would explain how everyone knew him and why the guards let him go where he pleased. "They don't normally let people in here, do they?"

"I'm a soldier, remember?" Link bit his lip at the lie. The words sounded strange and foreign to him, not just because he was usually a supporter of honesty, but because to him a soldier was someone who dressed in armor and blindly defended their homeland, becoming no more involved in matters of importance than they had to. To some people, a soldier and a Hero might be the same thing, but to Link, they were completely different.

"That was still lucky," Dark said, glancing back at the guard as they crossed the bridge. "He must have mistaken you for someone else." But even as he said it, he knew - that was no mistake. That guard had known exactly who Link was, and maybe even the real reason behind why he had come here.

"We're about to get even luckier," Link muttered, completely ignoring the question. He passed through that gate at least once a month, and the same guard was always on duty. He and Link had an inside joke about him coming to the castle, and Link would always respond with a different reason every time.

As they reached the open entryway to the castle, they were instantly greeted by two palace guards. Dark stood awkwardly in the entryway as Link moved inside to ask them something. "I'm here to speak with the Queen," he said, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "Do you think you could show me and my friend here to one of her meeting rooms? We understand if we'll have to wait a while."

The guards exchanged a long glance, before one haltingly answered him. "I...suppose we could do that. Who should we tell the Queen is here to meet her?" They looked at Dark, and then at Link, the confusion obvious on their faces. Link often just flashed his official paperwork at them, and then went to find Zelda himself. To be requesting an official, and unscheduled, meeting was very unlike him.

"She'll know who he is," Link said, leaning even closer to the guards. He didn't like the way that Dark was waggling his eyebrows at him, a devious smile forming on his face. He realized too late that the Sheikah have good hearing, and that whispering probably didn't do anything more than make him look suspicious.

"Uh, very well, sir," the confused guard told him, taking a step forward. "Follow me. The Queen will be with you shortly." Dark stepped over the entryway at last, arms crossed over his chest. He remained silent for the entire walk up the stairs, through the hallway, across the art gallery, and over the throne room until they finally were shown into a meeting room, and the guard closed the door behind them.

"You're no ordinary soldier," Dark's eyes narrowed as he looked suspiciously at Link. "Getting into the castle? Maybe. But an audience with the Queen? I highly doubt it. Just who are you really, Link?" He had suspected Link wasn't who he said he was almost from the beginning, but now, it looked like he would finally be able to confirm that conjecture.

"The only reason I found you in the first place was because I was on an exploratory mission," Link told him, finding it hard to look into Dark's eyes. "Queen Zelda was the one that ordered the mission. That's why I was able to get an audience so easily."

"It must have been a pretty important mission, if she's going to be seeing you shortly, no questions asked." He didn't look convinced. He might not have known much about Hyrule, or about Queens, but people in positions of power didn't usually take time out of their day without an excellent reason.

"Maybe she isn't busy today," Link suggested, running out of plausible explanations. That one didn't even sound believable to him.

"Or maybe," Dark said, looking very smug. "Maybe, you're even more important than everyone's been hinting at. A foreign ambassador, perhaps? The Queen's personal errand boy? Or maybe, just maybe…" he leaned closer to Link, forcing him to look into his eyes. "You're royalty yourself."

Link gulped uncomfortably. Dark was dangerously close to the truth. Would it really hurt that much to come clean about his identity? After all, he would most likely find out when Zelda showed up, anyway. And as Malon had said, that information should come from him, not her.

"Don't think I don't see all those hints of royal connections you have," Dark continued, watching Link very closely. "That ocarina you have has a triforce on it. Everyone seems to know you on sight. You're wearing a tunic edged with gold, and you don't seem to mind getting it dirty, so it must not be your only one. You have access to magic spells that seem to be from the goddesses themselves. Not to mention that magical blade you have. What was the idea there, putting it on top of my sword? I can't even touch it." Link cringed, remembering how he had secured Dark's sword to Epona. Dark must have tried to get it free sometime last week.

"So I'll ask you again. Just who are you? The prince?" He guessed. "No, you wouldn't be able to leave the castle if you were that close. A cousin of the Queen, perhaps?"

"I'm not related to the Royal Family," Link said at last, deciding that Dark didn't deserve to be lied to anymore. "I'm the Hero of Time. The Hero of Legend," he explained, figuring the second term would be one Dark would have had a chance of hearing.

"You?" Dark snorted, unable to contain his laughter. "You're the legendary Hero from prophecy?" He stared at Link as he realized that he wasn't joining in the laughter. "You're serious, aren't you?" he asked, his voice taking on an almost strangled sounding note.

"Yes," Link told him, suddenly ashamed of himself for not saying anything sooner. "I am."

"And he will rise up from the dead, and walk among them to meet the King of Destruction," Dark quoted softly. He was familiar with the prophecy, as most of his people were. "He alone can make Hyrule stand united as Courage is pitted against Power."

"I hope I'm not too much of a disappointment," Link said, the quotes surprising him. The Kokiri had never put great stock in prophecy, and if anyone else he had met did they kept it to themselves. Only Timok, the palace scribe, had been kind enough to share its words with him after he defeated Ganon.

"I wouldn't know," Dark said, his eyes cast downwards. "Is there any truth to the prophecy? Or are you just a figurehead?" He sounded bitter, and Link frowned slightly.

"Some parts of it apply to me," Link said. "Other parts don't. But I only know of one prophecy, and I know I'm not the first Hero, so it stands to reason that some parts have already come to pass, while others haven't."

Dark nodded, thinking through what he had just learned. "What about that line? About rising from the dead? Did you...were you…" he wasn't sure how to phrase his question.

"In a manner of speaking," Link told him, thinking back. "When I was child, I opened a door I shouldn't have. I thought I was helping the Princess, but in reality…" he shivered, recalling his mistake. "The Goddesses put me in a deep sleep for seven years -" he paused in response to an outburst from Dark.

"You were asleep for _seven years_?" He sounded completely incredulous. "I knew you were a bit on the lazy side, but years…" he clapped his hand over his mouth as he realized who he had just insulted.

"It wasn't by choice," Link replied dryly. "Anyway, I woke up to find the world practically ruined, and everyone I had ever known presumed me dead. So, in a way, I did come back from the dead. As for walking among them...I would prefer not to discuss it." Redeads gave him the chills, even now in the brightness and comfort of the castle.

"So if that's true...Courage, and Power...the Triforce…" he stared at Link in wide-eyed surprise, the full extent of what being a Hero of Legend meant dawning on him.

"I hold the Triforce of Courage." Link pulled the glove off his left hand, holding it out to show Dark. Dark raised his hand, his fingers twitching with curiosity, but he resisted the temptation to touch it. "Zelda holds the Triforce of Wisdom."

"And the Triforce of Power?" Dark inquired. "Where is it now?"

"With Ganon," Link answered, wiggling his glove back on his hand. "The 'King of Destruction' the prophecy mentions. He isn't dead. Once you have a piece of the Triforce, it's with you for life."

"So you're not afraid of anything then, huh? With the Triforce of Courage, and all." Dark smirked at him. "That would explain why you so brazenly jumped off that cliff earlier."

"Courage isn't about not being afraid," Link told him. "It's about being able to face your fears, and staying strong even if you are scared." He wasn't afraid of many things, really. He wasn't bothered by heights, or small spaces, or spiders, which were common fears. But darkness always made him a little nervous. And his feelings, which had been leading him down a path of uncertainty towards his future familial duties as the Hero of Time, made him more than a bit afraid sometimes. But he wasn't about to share that with Dark.

"Well." Dark cast his eyes around the room, reeling from all the new things he had just found out about his companion. "Don't expect any special treatment from _me_ , Hero." His grin seemed a little shaky, his arrogance more forced than normal. It was one thing to act like that around Link, but it was another entirely to act that way around one of the most important people in all of Hyrule. "To me, you'll always just be Link."

* * *

"So it is true," Zelda murmured, surveying Dark with a critical eye. "I thought you might have been mistaken. But I can see it - his stature, his eyes...his impatience," she added, with a charming smile. "He really is a Sheikah."

It had taken only a few more minutes after their conversation for her to enter the meeting room, looking tired from what had undoubtedly been a day of being locked in a room with a bunch of stuffy officials, discussing the affairs of Hyrule. However, she was not too tired to notice Dark, and take an immediate interest in him.

"Of course I am," Dark sneered. "What else could you possibly mistake me for?"

"I'm sorry, Zelda," Link apologized on his behalf. "He's not very…" he stopped as she held up her hand.

"I apologize...Dark, is it? I did not mean to offend you. It was not that I doubted the way you presented yourself; rather, I doubted Link's interpretation of that presentation." Dark held eye contact with her for several seconds before curtly nodding. Zelda had looked back calmly, not blinking, with a smile on her face for the full exchange. This was obviously not her first time around a Sheikah, and Dark appreciated the intimate knowledge she displayed of his culture.

"I wanted you here for other reasons besides confirming what you told me, of course." Zelda moved towards the window, wistfully looking outside at the lovely flowers that adorned the courtyard. "It was my hope that by sending you on this mission, you would find something that I have always suspected was still in Hyrule - the Temple of Light."

Link and Dark exchanged a surprised look, though for different reasons. Link was surprised because Zelda hadn't mentioned the temple when she originally sent him to explore the area, and Dark was surprised because he hadn't expected the Queen to know anything about it in the first place.

"At the beginning of the Hyrulean Civil War, many years before I was born, a prophet approached my mother and warned her of a great movement that would sweep Hyrule, affecting all lands and peoples that fell in its path. Should all worlds fall at the same time, there would be no hope for any of them to be saved. But if Hyrule took steps to protect other worlds, in time they would be rewarded for their efforts and would be saved from the destruction and chaos.

"My mother took this message to heart, and unbeknownst to my father, she created the Resistance, a group dedicated to saving Hyrule by putting other worlds first. There were only a few members at the beginning, but more joined over time. Through their combined efforts, they located the true gate between worlds, known then as the Temple of Light, and decided to take steps to seal it off from the rest of Hyrule; and in turn, seal it off from other worlds as well.

"I do not know much about the temple itself, and my knowledge of the steps the Resistance used to conceal it is limited. But I do know this: the combined strength of their magic tied the power of the temple into a single map, which was split into pieces and distributed amongst the members of the Resistance. With the map pieces all being guarded over or hidden, the temple was protected from the dangers that my mother had been warned of, and the paths it contained to other worlds would remain untouched by the events of our land. To this day, the temple is still inaccessible to all who do not possess magic in some form.

"However, it was never the intention of my mother, nor of her followers, that the gateway to these worlds remain blocked off forever. As soon as Hyrule was saved from destruction, the map pieces were to be reunited, and the magic of the temple to be restored. But the war was not kind to many of those in the Resistance, and with so many members lost, the group broke apart before they could ever restore the temple. As for the map pieces that are needed to accomplish this, we have never located any of them, save for the one my mother held onto. The one that she passed on to me before she died. Until you contacted me, I had no idea if the Temple of Light even still existed. But now that I know it does, it is up to me to try and finish the work my mother started."

Link nodded thoughtfully, processing everything he had learned so far. She didn't tell them this story as the Queen of Hyrule - she told it as her mother's daughter, a woman determined to carry out all aspects of her family's legacy, no matter the cost. It was admirable, certainly, but it also wasn't a task that could be easily completed by herself. "So you want to find all the map pieces, and put them back together?"

"Yes," Zelda replied. Her expression, which had been contorted into worry only moments earlier, lifted as she realized that she had finally been able to share a burden which had rested almost solely upon her shoulders for years.

"And then what?" Dark asked sullenly, not as impressed with the story as Link seemed to be. This was obviously the same thing his parents had been told; the reason they knew about the temple in the first place and felt he and Shadir would be safe there. But he wasn't as inclined to believe it as they apparently had been. "The temple reappears to the public in a magical puff of smoke, and you open it for paid tours?"

Zelda laughed, finding Dark's comment more amusing than anything. "Anything is possible, I suppose," she said, recovering her composure fairly quickly. "I am not quite sure what will happen in our world. But I do know that the path to other worlds will be restored; allowing us to access them and establish communication with them once more."

"That doesn't really sound like a good thing, Zelda." Link shook his head, pondering the implications of interacting with other worlds. "They won't have any protection from us once the temple has been restored, and more importantly we won't have any protection from them. I don't like it." If they did decide to open that doorway, and actually were successful in doing so, there would most likely be no going back.

"There will always be risks," Zelda told him. "But remember that this is the way it was meant to be. We would be restoring the natural order of things. I am sure those other worlds have imperfections, but ours is not immune to flaws either. That does not mean we would not be capable of establishing friendships and partnerships that span across our lands."

"Wait a minute," Dark interjected. "You two are talking about these other worlds like they're real! They're just a myth."

"Dark," Link warned, but Zelda held up her hand to silence him. She was curious on Dark's viewpoint concerning the temple, considering he knew far more about it than she and Link did.

"I spent 18 years inside that temple, and I never saw any trace of there being another world." He crossed his arms, resolutely looking at Zelda. "It wasn't due to a lack of searching, either. You might think the temple is some sort of magical place, but it isn't." He expected an emotionless, imperial response, or perhaps even anger - anything but the smile that was directed towards him.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that after 18 years, you did not experience any sort of magic? You did not see things that could not be explained, or feel things that you were unfamiliar with? You survived, did you not? Sometimes, the gift of life is the most impressive magic of all." This was an argument she had used many times in the past to bring people around to her way of thinking, and she hoped that it would work on Dark. Unfortunately, he was not so easily swayed.

"Not enough magic." He pushed back the questions surging forward in his mind, channeling the energy they gave him into glaring at Zelda. "You think being shut away from society against my will counts as 'the gift of life'? You think that losing my brother was some sort of magical experience for me?"

"You have a brother?" Zelda seemed surprised by this information. "Is he..?" She left the question hanging, not wanting to make an assumption based on Dark's previous statement.

"Alive and well, and somewhere in Hyrule, thank you very much." He tapped his foot against the marble floor impatiently.

Link and Zelda exchanged a glance, and in that one look Zelda knew: Link hadn't told Dark what had become of his people during the time he was gone; he perhaps had even led Dark to believe that there was hope of finding his brother here. She wasn't angry though, because she understood. Even she didn't feel comfortable telling Dark that there had not been any Sheikah in Hyrule for years; that one couldn't even be in hiding anywhere in her kingdom.

"I am sorry to have to tell you this, but there is no way he could be in Hyrule." She braced herself for his response, hoping he wouldn't ask for an explanation. If only she was so lucky.

"Really? Why not? He certainly isn't in the Temple of Light, so where exactly do you expect him to be?" His voice rose through various levels of sarcasm, his icy tone slapping Zelda like a snowstorm.

"In another world," Link blurted out, wincing as Dark turned to fix a glare on him. "If he was here, he would have been home, right? And he wasn't. So it's the only explanation that makes sense." He could see the confusion on Dark's face slowly be replaced with acceptance at his words.

It still didn't quite add up to him though, even though it sounded plausible. There were more places in Hyrule than his home, after all. He would have expected Shadir to be there, but maybe he couldn't go back for some reason. Was there a chance Link had lied to him? He had to be sure. "But you said -"

"Actually," Link interjected, "I didn't say anything. You were the one who assumed he had to be in Hyrule, once you heard what Wallmasters do to their victims. I didn't correct you, which was wrong of me, and I'm sorry. But I didn't have all the information then. And all hope isn't gone. If Zelda is successful in putting the map pieces back together, you could go to those other worlds, and you can begin looking for him again."

Dark stepped closer to him, staring up at the slightly taller man. He reached his arms out towards Link, his fingers making contact with his wrists and his hands wrapping around the worn leather of Link's gloves. He leaned towards him, making Link's breath catch in his throat. Despite how dangerous he looked, he also seemed strangely enchanting. "You owe me," he said in a low voice. "Don't let my trust in you be an error in judgement."

He smiled at Link then, in response to the stunned look the Hylian was giving him. Even he had felt the power behind his voice; time seemingly standing still as his words sunk in. He found himself inexplicably drawn to the steel blue of Link's eyes, unable to stop himself from analyzing the look he was being given. Link knew he wouldn't stop looking for his brother in Hyrule, and yet, for some reason, he wanted him to give up on his search here.

A small cough from Zelda reminded him that they were not the only two people in the room, and he hastily slid his hands off Link's wrists, tucking them against his body as he crossed his arms once more. Busy focusing on the Queen, he missed the bewildered look Link gave him and the examination he gave his hands in response to their fingers brushing against each other briefly.

"18 years spent inside the Temple of Light, a brother lost in another world, and an encounter with a Wallmaster?" Zelda raised her eyebrow, looking rather skeptical. It sounded like a fantastic tale, almost too fantastic to be true. But she would be the judge of that. "Maybe it's time you told me your story, Dark. Go ahead. I'm listening."

* * *

Dark didn't find it any easier to tell his story to someone for the second time. In fact, he found it more difficult. His heart still ached over the loss of his home and family; he still was upset about his brother being missing and angry over how many years he spent locked away inside the temple. And Zelda, unlike Link, was not content to just listen. She had to interrupt him, asking questions he didn't have the answer to.

"How did your parents know about the temple?" was her first question, and all he could do was shrug his shoulders. It wasn't really important information at the time, after all.

"Why did they send you there? Why not go themselves?" This, at least, Dark had an answer to. Honor and duty were at the core of why they had not accompanied their children. His parents had been called to fight in the war. He and his brother had not. But their safety was the primary reason behind it; they had wanted to make sure their sons were not caught up in a battle with no winning move.

"How did you and your brother retain your sanity?" The Sheikah were used to isolation - even at the young age Dark had been when he first entered the temple, the last thing he was concerned about was being driven to the edge by the lack of companionship. But despite Zelda's apparent knowledge of the Sheikah and her understanding of their culture, her own fears of being left alone prompted her to ask anyway, and Dark wasted no time in pointing out that spending some time by herself might benefit her - even though he wasn't so sure that he wasn't insane.

Out of respect for the difficulty of communicating his story, or perhaps just so she wouldn't have to deal with any more snarky comments from Dark, she didn't ask any more questions until Dark reached the part of his story where Link joined him. "I was just minding my own business, and he bursts into the room _again_." He shot Link a mock glare, causing him to smile. "Of course he seemed a lot more clumsy than last time - but no less of a threat, of course."

"Wait." Zelda held up her hand, and Dark fell silent. "What do you mean, again? Link had never been in the Temple of Light before - I would know." She looked at Link, asking him a silent question: _did you leave something out, when last we spoke?_

"Dark is referring to a meeting we had, via a magical medium: a tree. I was near one in the Water Temple, and he was near one in the Temple of Light. Somehow, his image was projected to me - and mine to him - and we fought. I told you about that once before - except at that time, I thought I was fighting a shadow of myself."

Zelda's expression grew troubled, her eyes cast downwards towards the floor. "I remember you telling me about that fight. It was powerful enough magic at the time, but now…" Her knowledge of magic was greater than Link's, and her fear was something he couldn't possibly hope to understand without further training, or at the very least a detailed explanation.

"The magic doesn't seem to be gone, either," Link added, remembering his first few minutes with Dark. "I inspected the tree when I was in the Temple of Light, and not only could I briefly see the Water Temple, I was possessed by black magic and nearly killed Dark."

Dark nodded solemnly, not even taking the opportunity to make Link feel bad for beating him in a fight. "It wasn't the best first impression you could have made," he told him truthfully. "Or second, I suppose."

"You are very lucky to be standing here," Zelda said, looking thoughtful. "I have seen our Hero in battle. He is certainly a force to be reckoned with." He blushed, looking down at the floor. Compliments always made him feel awkward - especially when they were on his skill with fighting, something that he didn't even particularly like doing.

"Oh!" Zelda suddenly said, looking in surprise out the window. Link peered around her to look as well, and saw someone in burnt orange robes being led through the courtyard. "I wish I could stay with you longer, but I am afraid I won't be able to. I have a meeting with the city planner, and he simply cannot be kept waiting - very temperamental, you see." Zelda always tried to be the peacemaker. "Do you have a place to stay for the night? I could offer you rooms in the palace," she said, smiling at them.

Link didn't usually accept Zelda's offers to stay at the palace, but he looked over at Dark to see how he felt. Thankfully, he saw his own discomfort mirrored on his companion's face. "We'll find lodgings in the city," he said, bowing his head slightly to show his gratitude at the gesture, even if he was rejecting it.

"You know you are always welcome to stay here," Zelda told him, always feeling bad when Link turned her down, even though she understood why he didn't like staying in the castle. "I know!" she said, her face brightening. "Your house!"

"My house?" Link repeated blankly, not understanding.

"I know that you turned down my offer to live in Castle Town," Zelda told him. "But I had always hoped you would change your mind about living here. It remains uninhabited, and ready for you to move in at any time. You could spend the night there. That might be preferable, under the circumstances."

"Well…" Link thought about it. He didn't feel that he was likely to change his mind about living in Castle Town. But Dark wouldn't be staying with him forever - and he might want to live somewhere that didn't hold so many memories of his past. A house in Castle Town would be perfect for him. "We accept your offer," he said with a small bow. "I would be honored to take ownership of the house."

Zelda looked at him in surprise. "Really?" it came out almost as a squeak, and she cleared her throat, looking embarrassed. "I mean, splendid! I will tell my guards to provide you with the key, and take you to your new home." She walked towards the door, her hand resting on the handle for just a moment before she turned around to face them once again. "I would like to continue our discussion tomorrow, if that would be okay. Thanks to you both, I finally feel that there is hope to restore the Temple of Light to its former glory." she smiled encouragingly at Dark, who nodded once in response. "And, Link - you will grow to love Castle Town. I promise."

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

I do have a couple reviews / questions to respond to, so here goes:

 _Why was it so dark in the temple?_ Didn't really have a good opportunity to answer that direct in the story (I didn't feel Zelda would ask about it), so I'll just answer it here! I think that most of the temples in Ocarina of Time are lit by magic - even in cases where the torches are visible, based on how many times Master Quest forces you to light them up (usually with Din's Fire). So if the magic was stripped from the temple, those lights would no longer work and the temple would be plunged into darkness. Of course, I imagine there were lights on when Dark first entered the temple, but I view that kind of like solar power - lights that are solar powered store up energy all day in the sunlight and can remain lit all night even though they aren't being charged. So magic powered lights can store up that energy and remain lit for a certain amount of time, then go off when that energy runs out.

I definitely wanted to do something different for Dark in this story; he has so much potential but I see few stories out there that explore it. I like him much better as a Sheikah than an evil minion. I have to admit, I'm not quite sure how I feel about Dark's brother yet, either. Writing scenes of them together is challenging for me, as an only child. But he's important to the story, and this is the first story I've seen where Dark has a real family, so I'm determined to make it work.

While we're on the topic of Dark's brother, I was wondering how many people would think he and Link were related. My fanbase does not disappoint! That was actually a mistake to cut the story that way (that kind of assumption can make you lose readers sometimes), but I didn't notice until after I published it.

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 11: The Last of the Sheikah**. Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


	11. The Last of the Sheikah

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Sorry for the long wait, guys! My motivation has been waning lately, but don't worry, I'm still around and working on this, promise! Anyone else psyched for the Nintendo Switch? I only just got my hands on a Wii U for Paper Mario Color Splash & Yoshi's Woolly World a couple days ago, and realized I hate the design of the controller. NX looks like it fixes that problem, and will merge consoles with portable devices - something I've personally been longing for since the SNES era.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11**

 **The Last of the Sheikah**

* * *

Link had to admit, it was a nice house. It wasn't right in the heart of Castle Town, but rather on the outskirts. It was surrounded by grass, trees, and other reminders of the Kokiri Forest. The house was made out of wood, and had a green roof. It was very obviously picked with him in mind, and it made him feel a little guilty about his plans to eventually turn its ownership over to Dark.

It had been quiet too, during the night. The noise from the marketplace didn't seem to carry that far, and there were no neighbors to speak of that would contribute to any sound he did hear. Even the house itself didn't seem to creak with age like many of the others Link had been in did. Not that he would have been able to hear anything if there had been a sound besides silence, though - he had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He could push through being tired if he had to, but a bit of well-deserved rest never hurt anyone.

And so it was with a relaxed yawn and a big smile on his face that he walked downstairs the following morning, ready to face the day. Not only had Zelda been kind enough to provide him with a fully furnished home, but she had also promised to send over one of her chefs to whip up breakfast for him and Dark, and he could already smell it cooking.

"Master Link!" the chef exclaimed excitedly as he entered the kitchen. "I am Zula. Your friend let me in." Link looked around in surprise, noticing that Dark was sitting at the kitchen table, looking as irritable as ever. "Breakfast is almost ready - please, sit down!" She gestured at a chair across the table from Dark.

"Are we friends today?" he asked his companion, pulling out the chair and throwing himself into it. He had always been exceptionally hard on furniture. That's why his house in Kokiri Village had only a bed.

"Only if you don't call me 'sunshine'," Dark said, leaning back in his chair and hooking his foot around the leg of the table to pull himself back into an upright position. His arms were crossed, and he was directing a positively nasty glare at Zula. Link admired his agility out of the corner of his eye. If he had tried a maneuver like that, he probably would have ended up on the floor.

"She called you 'sunshine'?" he asked, dropping his voice to a whisper. He couldn't help but grin at his companion. "She obviously doesn't know you very well. No wonder you're in a bad mood." He paused, taking on a more serious tone. "So that's a 'yes', then?"

Dark regarded the man across the table from him, the smallest of smiles forming on his face. Only a true friend would have refused to leave the temple without him, make sure that he had food to eat and a place to sleep, and continue to travel with him as he searched for his brother. But people like him didn't deserve to have friends, and they certainly didn't deserve to have someone like Link asking them to. Thankfully, he was saved from answering with the timely arrival of breakfast.

"Thank you, Zula!" Link said, smiling brightly. "This looks great!" He dug his fork enthusiastically into the food, and took a bite, savoring the fine flavor of royal cooking.

"No no, thank you," Zula bowed, looking pleased. "Mistress Zelda said to meet her at the castle when you were done. She sent someone to escort you - they're waiting outside." She walked backwards out of the kitchen, continuing to bow. "Enjoy your meal!"

* * *

As soon as Link finished eating, he decided to go outside and greet their escort to the castle - who, to his surprise, turned out to be Geran. "Mr. Hero!" he exclaimed, giving him a hearty handshake. "It's been too long!" Link was about to point out to him that they had seen each other just a few weeks ago, when they were suddenly interrupted.

"Oh, so it's Mr. Hero now?" a voice drawled from the door, and Link turned around to see Dark. He must have finished breakfast right after he left, and followed him outside.

"Geran, I would like you to meet Dark," he said dryly, introducing the two men. "I've known Geran since I was a child," he explained to the grinning Sheikah. "He can call me whatever he wants. You, however, can't," he jokingly informed Dark, shaking his finger at him. "So don't get any ideas!"

"I like it, though," Dark said, sounding very amused. "So official. Makes you sound very important, indeed." His words were dripping with heavy sarcasm, and Link rolled his eyes. So it was going to be one of those days - again.

"Link is a very important person. It would do you well to remember that while you're in Hyrule." Geran spoke kindly, his words meant to serve as a gentle reminder to the young Sheikah. If there was one thing he knew about Hyrule, it was that they took their Heroes very seriously.

Dark grew silent, taking the opportunity to admire the scenery on their way from Link's new house to the castle. It wasn't actually that far away, but he doubted he would be able to remember all the winding roads they were cutting through to get there. He saw children playing hopscotch, people walking through the streets with shopping bags adorning their arms, and lots of stray animals. It was so busy in Castle Town - and there were so many more people than he was used to seeing. All of them were watching him; him, Link, and Geran. Geran was dressed in the uniform of the Royal Guard, so everyone knew who he was. And Link, of course, was the Hero of Time, savior of the people. They would know him as well. But who did they think Dark was? He felt so small and insignificant, walking through town flanked by two of the most recognizable figures in the country, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Link." a clear, crisp voice broke through the silence, startling Dark. He thought he recognized the woman's voice, but he wasn't sure. He couldn't see the speaker anywhere.

"Zelda?" Link said, pulling on a black cord around his neck that Dark hadn't noticed until now. Link's question revealed who the speaker was, and Dark looked all around. He didn't see Zelda anywhere, and was slightly impressed. It had to be hard to hide while wearing such a bright pink dress, and with the royal crown on your head.

"I'm waiting for you in the same room you went to yesterday. Just come straight on up. There's someone here that I think Dark would be interested in meeting." She wasn't there, after all - her voice was coming through a gently glowing stone, that Link now held in his hand.

"Who is it?" Dark shouted, wondering if Zelda would be able to hear him as well.

"I don't think it works unless you're holding it," Link told him, waving the stone at him. "Besides, we're here now." He pointed ahead, and Dark realized with a start that they had already arrived at the castle doors. "Thanks for accompanying us, Geran! It's always great to see you." The guard smiled as the pair walked through the doors. He would be waiting for them again when they were done, to escort them back home.

"Mr. Hero, indeed." Dark said, as the door clanged shut behind them. "Titles don't need another title attached to them."

"Maybe not," Link shrugged. "But it's a nickname from a different point in my life, a reminder of the way things used to be before I fully understood the gravity of the situation with Ganon. I wasn't always the Hero of Hyrule - and yet, at the same time, I was. Sort of." His hand rested on the door handle to the meeting room for a moment before turning and opening it, a sigh lingering on his lips as he did so.

"Welcome," Zelda told them, speaking not from a stone this time, but from a small chair at the far side of the room. "I hope you slept well," she said, aiming the comment more at Link. He nodded appreciatively, and took a chair near the door. Taking the cue from him, Dark sat down in an adjacent chair. He slouched down, leaning against the back of the chair. It was almost comfortable enough to fall asleep in - almost, but not quite.

"Dark," Zelda spoke, addressing him directly. He snapped to attention. It wouldn't do to zone out in front of the Queen. "This is Impa. She traveled a long way to see you." she waved her hand towards the corner of the room, and with a start Dark realized that there was someone standing there. He hadn't noticed anyone before. She was wearing a blue cloak over a tight-fitting body suit, and the hood of the cloak almost completely covered her face from view. She stepped forward, her soft riding boots moving silently over the carpeted floor.

"Dark, is it?" Her grin was just barely visible underneath the hood, and he gulped nervously. Who was this mystery woman? "It's an honor to meet you. I am Impa - formerly the last of the Sheikah." She pulled her hood down, revealing her white hair, red eyes, and traditional Sheikah facepaint. But though her face was lined with worry she had carried around for years and her eyes seemed tired, her words said much more than her appearance. What had she meant, the last of the Sheikah?

Obviously seeing the distress on his face, Impa smiled sadly at him. "I am sorry to have to tell you this, Dark. Please don't be mad at Link or Zelda. They knew this would be better coming from me."

"What would be better coming from you?" Dark demanded. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, the impending doom of bad news hanging over his head like a storm.

Impa sighed, a frown crossing her face as she examined the younger Sheikah. "My title isn't one I give myself with pride - I, and now you, truly are the last of the Sheikah."

"Excuse me?" If looks could kill, Impa would almost certainly be breathing her last breath at that moment with the glare Dark was fixing her with.

"The war was not kind to our people," Impa told him, the bitterness evident in her voice. "As the appointed Guardian of the Royal Family, I was not expected to fight. The same could not be said for everyone else. When the fires of war faded, I came to the realization that many Sheikah were dead, and the rest had disappeared. Whole communities had been left shattered by the event. In time, I came to accept that I was the last of my kind. And now, I have come here to help you, as you struggle to accept this as well."

"You're lying." But even as Dark said it, he could feel himself starting to believe. It made sense now, why he hadn't seen any other Sheikah since he returned to Hyrule, and why Kakariko and Eldin, once primarily Sheikah villages, had been taken over by the Hylians if not abandoned outright.

"I wish I was." She crossed her arms, tossing her head back with an annoyed grunt. "But if it were not the truth, do you think I would admit to having fallen to my knees on the remains of the battlefield, crying for my friends? Do you think I would tell you how I visited every Sheikah village, and inspected every house hoping desperately for signs of life?" She glared down at Dark. "I alone have carried the memories of a dying race for more years than I care to think about. It is not a burden that I would wish upon anyone - but it is one that I do not have to face alone anymore."

"Great," Dark said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I always wanted more burdens."

Impa drew herself up, hovering at her full height in front of Dark. "You hide your emotions behind your banter. It's unbecoming of the last son of the Vahari clan." Dark stared at her in surprise. The Sheikah consisted of many clans long ago, but they had banded together into a single tribe many years before he was born. Few people ever spoke of the clans, but his parents families had belonged to the same one, something that they had been proud of. "I knew who you were as soon as Zelda told me about you. Your parents were valued members of the community. I'm sure you miss them quite a bit."

"I do," Dark said softly. "How did you know them?" His parents had never been much for socializing; though they often did activities outside and greeted the neighbors when they walked by. They never invited people over to their house, and if they went to visit someone else they always brought their children with them. While he was sure Impa would have looked a bit different 18 years ago, he was just as sure he had never met her before. He would remember someone who had such a striking appearance.

She hesitated before answering, unsure how to explain their association. "Even before the war, the Sheikah population was shockingly low. Once a proud people who interacted with society, we begin keeping to ourselves to hide our dwindling numbers. It was our own fault, really. We seem to have trouble connecting with others on a personal level. So a married couple was very rare among the Sheikah - and children had become even rarer. So it was really because of you, and your brother, that your parents became so well-known."

"However, I knew them for a different reason." Impa turned her head to glance at Zelda; a single nod from the Queen confirming that it was okay to tell him. "I knew them because of their association with the then-Queen of Hyrule, Zelda's mother. Zelda said that she told you yesterday, of the Resistance and the split map pieces. Dark, your parents were part of that group."

Dark stared incredulously at Impa. His parents, freedom fighters? He just couldn't see it. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, all of which he was almost afraid to know the answers to. But he had to start somewhere. "Why did they join the Resistance?" he asked. His tone sounded even despite his skepticism, and Impa couldn't help but be impressed by his resolve.

"It's not my place to say," Impa responded, bowing her head slightly. "Though I'm sure they believed in its cause. Your mother did wield shadow magic, as I'm sure you know." Dark nodded his head, remembering the spell on his sword and shield. "Perhaps your parents felt her ability could be put to good use."

"What about you?" Dark asked, thinking that Impa certainly looked like a powerful sorceress. "Do you have magic? Were you part of the Resistance as well?"

"There was a time I considered joining," Impa told him. "I was friends with the Queen, after all. But my job of protecting the Royal Family extended to the King, naturally, and I decided it would be too much of a conflict of interest to be more than minimally involved. I didn't have magic at the time, either - though as a Sage, I do have some now."

There was that word again. Sage. It wasn't one that Dark was familiar with, but Link had mentioned it twice the other day, and now Impa was talking about it too. If he had to guess, he would say it was a title of some sort.

Zelda took his silence as he thought about it as an opportunity to speak. "I didn't know your parents, Dark, nor was I a member of the Resistance. But I do know every member that had magic, eight in total, was responsible for helping seal the Temple of Light and guarding over one of the map pieces. Do you ever remember seeing something like this?" She produced what looked like a well-preserved piece of parchment, torn on all four edges. It was glowing with the gentle blue light of a protection spell.

"No," Dark said, at the same time as Link said "Yes." They stared at each other almost competitively, both with slightly confused expressions. Eventually, Link gestured for Dark to speak first.

"I mean, I don't think so," Dark corrected, still halfway glancing at Link. "I've seen parchment, and I've seen maps. But I don't think I've seen a map on parchment that looks like that." Zelda looked disappointed at his statement, but her expression turned hopeful as she looked at Link.

"I've seen two like that before. The first one is in Dark's pocket." He pointed at Dark, eliciting another confused expression from him. He started rummaging through his pockets, pulling out random Rupees, rocks, and an extremely crumpled piece of parchment.

"You mean this old thing?" he asked, shaking the parchment in front of him. "But it's garbage! You said so yourself."

"Trying to navigate around an entire temple with one-eighth of a map isn't helpful - and I didn't realize it was only part of the map at the time. Besides, you're the one that kept it!"

"One-ninth," Zelda said absently, reaching over and taking the map before a fight broke out between the men. "The last piece of the map was sealed in the temple itself for safety. Only someone in possession of magic that had been used to seal the temple originally could have entered." She put the parchment on the table and begin smoothing out the wrinkles. "You said you had seen another one, as well?" she reminded him.

Link coughed, pulling out the scroll he had tucked in his pocket. He unrolled it, surveying it before handing it to Zelda. "I, um…" he looked guiltily over at Dark. "Found this at Dark's house," he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"You stole from my house!?" Dark asked incredulously, staring open-mouthed at Link. He recovered quickly, his face settling into a smirk. "I didn't think you had it in you." He almost looked proud that Link had managed to take something from his house without him knowing.

"It does not matter how he got it," Zelda said, almost irritably. "Come over here, both of you." She had stopped being Zelda, friend of the Hero of Time, and instead was the Queen, commander of the army of Hyrule. It was a side to her Link hadn't seen directed at him before, and it made him very glad he wasn't just one of her soldiers.

"What are we looking at?" Dark asked, leaning over the table. The three map pieces were laid out side by side; one that was attempting to roll back into a scroll, one with many creases, and one looking pristine and perfect in the glowing blue light of magic.

"These two pieces." Zelda pointed at the piece that had belonged to her, and the one that had been in Dark's house. "I believe they fit together."

"How do we put them back together?" Link asked, eyeing the pieces. He knew of several ways to fix broken things, but none of those methods seemed to apply to parchment.

"Only the original magic that was used to seal the temple and break the map apart in the first place can be used to put it back together," Impa said, taking the two pieces in her hands. "I do not think anyone predicted it would take so many years before the pieces were ready to be assembled again." She put the pieces down, and sighed. "I am afraid you will have to track down the members of the Resistance, or their descendants, in order to accomplish it."

"Wouldn't it just be enough to have all the pieces?" Dark asked eagerly. "We could still see the whole map that way." Seeing the map in full would reveal other entrances and exits he hadn't been able to locate - and, other world or not, he knew he could find his brother through one of them.

"No," Zelda shook her head. "It would not do you any good. The magic of the temple would still be sealed. You would have to be more powerful than all the magic used combined in order to break the seal without the map."

Dark's face fell, but then brightened as he realized he could help in some way. "I can find all the magic we need," he said, confident in his abilities. "I will travel to every area of Hyrule, and find the members of the Resistance." His eyes sparkled with newfound hope, though his expression remained flat and emotionless.

"It is too big of a task to undertake on your own," Zelda told him, shaking her head sadly. "I would not even know where to tell you to begin."

"But I want to do it," Dark slammed his hand down on the table. making the three other people in the room jump. "I'll prove it to you. I'll find them."

"You don't have to do it all by yourself." Link rested his hand lightly on Dark's shoulder, hoping to avoid another outburst. "I'll help you. I promise." He shrunk back from Dark as he realized he just broke his cardinal rule: never make promises. Thankfully, no one else seemed to be aware of this, and they all nodded at him, seemingly happy he offered to help.

"Very well, then," Zelda said, taking all three of the map pieces and stacking them on top of one another. "If you are both willing to undertake this task, then who am I to say no?" She got up from her chair, and with a quick nod at each of them, exited out the door.

"I'm afraid that I can't be of much help, either," Impa said, still staring at the spot on the table where the map pieces had been. 'But I do know someone who was in the Resistance, someone who also has magic." She looked up to make sure they were both paying attention, and was pleased to see that they were. "His name is Javo, and he is a Zora. I had thought him dead until I caught sight of him at the coronation. He was always very friendly, and will most likely know the names of other people who were involved."

She stepped away from the table, bowing her head as she prepared to leave. "This means more to Zelda than she'll ever let on. In the course of one day, she went from having one person, one map piece, and no hope of ever finding others to two people, three map pieces, and a better chance than she had been expecting. So thank you." A ring of purple light appeared at her feet, slowly rising to cover her entirely.

"Wait!" Dark yelled, realizing that his chance to ask an important question was disappearing right before his eyes. "What happened to them?" He had to know if his parents had died on the battlefield; if they had sacrificed their lives to give him and Shadir a better future.

"No one knows." Impa's voice rang with truth and sorrow. "They disappeared. Just like everyone else."

"Thank you, Impa," he said, choking back the sudden sting of sadness. An honest answer, even one he didn't like, was more than he ever could have hoped for. "Thank you."

* * *

It was later in the evening when Link and Dark finally returned home, exhausted from the events of the day. Link had insisted on giving Dark a tour of the marketplace, hoping it would take his mind off of their meeting with Zelda and Impa. While he didn't seem to be upset, he was being unusually quiet and reserved. It had Link a bit worried.

"Are you okay?" he had asked Dark on multiple occasions, pulling him into an abandoned alley away from prying eyes and ears to ask. But each time, he had received nothing more than an annoyed grunt and a glare that seemed to be telling him to stop asking.

And now, full from a dinner at one of the many eateries in the marketplace, Dark still had that same irritated look on his face. "I'm going to bed," he announced, slamming the front door shut. His footsteps shook the floor as he walked, heading towards his bedroom.

"Goodnight," Link called after him. "Sleep well." He wasn't even sure Dark had heard him, since he was already halfway up the stairs by that point. But it was the thought that counted. After he had heard Dark's bedroom door shut, he walked upstairs himself. There was really no point in staying up in a big house alone, after all.

It was several hours later that Link was woken up by a strange sound, echoing with muffled tones throughout the otherwise silent house. It was a sad sound, one that made Link want to find the source, and make everything better. He got out of bed, slipping through the crack of his bedroom door. At the very least, he could find where the noise was coming from.

As he crept down the candle-lit hallway, he could hear the noise with more and more clarity. It sounded almost like sobbing. But that couldn't be right. The only other person in the house was Dark. Dark never cried. Nothing bothered him. Or at least nothing ever seemed to.

But as he approached Dark's closed bedroom door, he knew without a doubt - Dark was crying, letting out all the emotions that he had been holding in since their meeting earlier that day.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there on the other side of the door, his own eyes beginning to grow wet with his own tears as he listened to Dark express his pain and his sorrow, but when the sound finally faded and was replaced by the gentle breathing of sleep, he cracked open the door and looked into the room.

Dark was facing the door, one arm tucked underneath him and the other outstretched. Link saw the tears still on his face glistening in the light from the hallway. He didn't look like someone who had just shrugged off his family and his home like they didn't matter to him. He looked like someone that still cared.

Link felt overwhelmed by the surge of emotions that overcame him as he stood in the doorway. He never thought Dark could be so strong. He must have been filled with so much pain, pain that Link had been right beside him for and yet somehow didn't see. But he hid it so well, because he didn't want anyone else to have to share the burden with him. It made Link want to reach out, and take Dark in his arms. He could help him. He could save him from this tumbling waterfall of tragedy, somehow. He wouldn't have to be alone. Link wasn't sure what to call the feeling he felt bubbling up inside him, but he knew would be with Dark for every step of the way, for better or for worse. That's what friends were for.

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

Inspiration for the ending of the chapter comes from the song _Fallen Angel_ by Three Days Grace. I feel incredibly bad for Dark; here it is, probably one of the worst days of his life, and instead of comforting him his only friend spies on him while he's sleeping. Not that Dark is the kind of person that would like to be comforted, but, Link should be very grateful that Dark didn't wake up while the door was open!

So, I know this was a couple months in the making, but it may be even longer before I get the next chapter up. I have a lot of things I need to work through in my notes before I can really start writing it, and I plan on publishing a brand new story as well that will take up some of my time. Don't worry, though - this story is still on my list of top priorities, and I'm super excited to start writing about Link and Dark's adventure!

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 12: [Title Undecided...Suggestions Appreciated]**. Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


	12. Jumping Right In

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hi all! I want to start out by thanking you all for sticking with me, and not giving up on me during my hiatus. I've been working on the biggest project of my career, working 18 hour shifts every single day, even weekends, for nearly a year. There's so much more I could say, and so much more craziness going on in my life that will keep my updates slow for a while (though, not as slow as this one!). But, since today is my birthday, I really wanted to get something published for you guys!

* * *

 **A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU**

Before I continue onto the story, there is one extremely special thank you I need to say, to my good friend Wodan83.

I know this is long overdue, but I am so grateful to you for your inspiration and support. This story in its entirety would not exist without you. Every time I get hit with writer's block, you're there to bounce ideas off of. Every time I've gotten in way over my head with some complicated idea, you're there to balance it out. Every time I'm criticizing my work too much to keep going, you give me the encouragement I need to keep me on track. Please know that your efforts are appreciated, and have not been forgotten.

Everyone, go read his story, _Legend of Zelda: A Song of Spirits_. It's incredible, and well worth your time to read it. FF is being very unfriendly with links, but put this after the main URL to get there!

s/12208385/1/Legend-of-Zelda-A-Song-of-Spirits

* * *

 **CHAPTER 12**

 **Jumping Right In**

* * *

"Have you ever met a Zora before?" Link asked his friend and travelling companion, looking at him curiously. They had just left Castle Town, carrying only a small bag that Link slung across his back. Epona was being cared for in the royal stables while they were gone.

"I don't think so," Dark said, not even quite sure what a Zora was. "Are they anything like Gorons?" Gorons hadn't been frequent visitors to his village, but they did show up every so often bearing gifts, which his people took after giving the Gorons gifts of their own.

"They're nothing alike." Link laughed at the comparison between them. "The Zoras are an aquatic race of people - they look very different from both us and the Gorons. Their skin is the same blue and white as the water around them, and they have fins, just like fish do." He gestured to his outfit, a blue tunic that seemed to reflect the same qualities as the water around them. "This tunic was actually made by them - it helps me swim as well as they do. They live in and around water, in a place they call Zora's Domain. It's one of the most beautiful areas in all of Hyrule - and one of the best-kept secrets. They don't care much for outsiders, but they do make exceptions."

"Of course," Dark said dryly, eyeing the river they walked alongside with extreme distaste. He didn't like water very much, and from what he had just heard he would be needing to interact with it today. He hoped Link wouldn't find out that he couldn't swim - and even if he could, he didn't have a tunic made by the Zoras to help him out. "I take it you're one of those exceptions."

"Naturally," Link said, grinning at his companion.

"The perks of being a Hero," Dark grumbled, shaking his head in disbelief.

"That does help," Link admitted. "But they actually made that exception because I know Zelda, not because I'm a Hero." He turned then, and looked out at the water, pausing for a second as he remembered Dark's overconfidence and eventual struggle with climbing the fence in Kakariko Village. "I probably should have told you, there's a lot of jumping involved in this route. Will you be able to make it? I can lend you my hookshot if not."

"I'll be fine," Dark shot back angrily. "I can do anything you can do."

"Okay." Link shrugged, eyeing the other side of the river before jumping across with accuracy that only came from making the journey many times before. Dark looked nervously at the gap Link had just crossed, feeling dread creep its way into his mind as he realized that if he missed this jump, he would be going for a swim in a fairly strong current. Nonetheless, he managed to make the jump, feeling as though he only just managed to escape the water as he hit the ground with a hard thud.

"Tell me more about the Zoras," he demanded as he picked himself off the ground, more in an attempt to keep Link focused on something other than his clumsy movements than any actual curiosity. He had noticed his calm expression as he surveyed Dark's first attempt at a jump, and interpreted it as being highly judgemental.

"Well, as I said, they keep mostly to themselves," Link explained, walking further along the path, though now on the opposite side of the river. "Just because I've met them doesn't mean I know a lot about them. They're very secretive, even amongst their friends."

"So we're basically paying a visit to fish people to get information they won't want to share with us?" Dark asked, a heavy layer of sarcasm evident in his voice. The further they walked, the more fences, waterfalls, and other obstacles were coming into view, and he didn't want to deal with any of them.

"No," Link protested. "They'll share information with us, if we're nice about it and have a good reason for asking. They're very civilized, more so than Hylians. They have a similar social structure to us, and while their society is not without its problems, they are free of judgement and hatred amongst their own kind. They have a King to lead them, who makes sure that people are assigned the best job in the community for them, based both on their skills and what makes them happy. They're a lot politer than most people I know, too," he said, with a meaningful look at Dark.

In return, Dark shot him a glare, slightly stumbling on the hill they were walking up as he did so. "Fine," he said with a huff, watching Link as he turned and jumped over the river again. "But I have a bad feeling about this." Dark jumped over the river himself, landing with more grace this time.

Link sighed, wading ankle-deep in the water as he crossed over several logs. Sometimes, he thought Dark had a bad feeling about everything. But he, too, could feel a sense of hopelessness as he began the final ascent up a steep hill, leading directly to the outskirts of Zora's Domain. Idle conversation with Dark always left him with conflicted feelings; pity, determination, sadness, and friendship rolled into one.

"We're almost there," Link told him, stopping abruptly and turning to face Dark. "You need to be really careful on this last jump. If you fall, the water is shallow enough for you to stand in, but you risk being carried away by the current if you land in the wrong spot." He eyed the strange bridges of land carefully. Even he sometimes got nervous about this jump, so he was sure Dark was feeling even worse about it.

"I'm always careful," Dark said from between gritted teeth.

"Then why don't you go first?" Link suggested. "I'll be right here if you need help."

"I won't need help," Dark reiterated, grimacing at the rapids below. The jump didn't actually look all that difficult. He crawled carefully to a narrower part of the land bridge, judging the distance again. From this angle, he couldn't even see the water, so he felt much safer. All he had to do was fall.

Slowly, he inched towards the edge, looking beneath him at the second land bridge. He didn't like jumping, or falling, or really anything that involved his body moving in ways it wasn't meant to. But those calm blue eyes were watching him, focusing in on his every move, and he couldn't let Link be a witness to failure.

"Ahh!" he cried, leaping down onto the land bridge. He felt the ground underneath him give way, and he feared for a moment that he had missed the jump and was in the water, but he wasn't. He was just standing in a slightly more unstable part of the bridge. He scurried away, looking up at Link with his hand blocking the worst of the light from his eyes. "Your turn!"

Link smiled at him, jumping down only moments later. He made it look so easy. "There," he pointed at the waterfall behind Dark, seemingly happy to see it.

"What's there? A dead end? Because that's what it looks like." He tried to choke out the bitterness in his voice at having come all this way for no reason.

"No," Link said, pushing past him to climb towards the waterfall. "Beyond it. This is it. Zora's Domain."

* * *

Dark had to admit, Zora's Domain was something special. With its rolling pathways alongside cliffs, high waterfall, and large pond area, he could see where people who were not afraid of heights and water would find it to be peaceful. He, however, found it be mildly terrifying, and he followed behind Link, trying to stay as close to the wall as possible.

"It seems busy," Link said, surprise evident in his voice. He looked up towards the top of the waterfall, but couldn't see past the small group of Zoras crowding around Fera, owner and operator of the diving game.

"Busy?" Dark scoffed. "It's practically empty!" While it was true that there were several Zoras around, and all of them looked to be in a hurry, it was hardly what he would call busy. Link, however, knew better.

"The Zoras are recovering from an accident," he explained. "To you, it may not look like there are many people here, but I think almost every one of the Zoras is out and about today." He followed the winding path to a different part of the domain, eventually walking through a small carved out doorway with a rug and a torch in front of it.

This was the first Dark had felt secure enough of where he was to stop holding onto the wall and start looking at his surroundings. The shop they had walked into was made almost entirely out of stone, and while there was no water running through it, the walls were slick with moisture and felt cool to the touch. The area was occupied by two Zoras, who looked nothing like the blue-and-white skinned fish people he had conjured up in his imagination. While they certainly looked different, they also held themselves with an elegance he did not think any Hylian or Sheikah could match.

"Dailo," Link said, greeting the shopkeeper with a brief handshake. They seemed to know each other, as the shopkeeper shook his hand with great excitement, clasping Link's hand with both of his.

"Link!" he exclaimed, gesturing at the wares behind him. "What will it be today? A fish, perhaps? Some more arrows? And who is your friend?" He peered around Link, his face lighting up as he got a better look at Dark. "Another Hylian!" he proclaimed, rushing up and grabbing Dark's hand to shake it, despite the ugly scowl that clearly was telling him to leave him alone.

"Sorry, not today," Link said, with an amused glance at the exchange. "Dailo, this is my friend, Dark." He didn't bother to correct the Zora's assumption. "We're looking for some information, actually."

"Oh," the shopkeeper said with obvious disappointment, returning to his post behind the counter. His recovery was quick, however, and a guarded smile returned on his face as he asked what sort of information they were looking for.

"We're looking for a man named Javo," Link told him. "I've never met him, but I had heard he might be around here. Do you know where to find him?"

"I know where to find him." The younger Zora standing near the counter spoke up, inching her way closer to the pair even as she glanced back at Dailo for his approval. He nodded his head once, encouraging her to continue. "He spends most of his days out at Lake Hylia, and I'm sure he's there today too."

Link frowned, but only for a second. His expression became almost sly, and he leaned a little closer to the Zora girl. "Thank you," he told her, with a gentle smile. "You're Marli, right?" she had been in the shop the last time he came to visit as well, but the introduction had been brief.

"Right," she said, glancing down at the ground with a small smile on her face. 'It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise," Link replied, as Dark looked on in disgust. He couldn't explain the feeling that came over him as he watched how charming Link was being. But almost as quickly as the feeling came in, it dissipated as the girl gave a quick bow, making her way to the back room of the store.

"Sweet girl," Dailo commented. "A bit shy, though. Her family was pulled out of the ice a couple months ago," he confessed in a whisper. "Her mother didn't make it, but her father is starting to show signs of recovery. I want to make sure he's proud of her when he finally wakes up." Like most of the shopkeepers Link had met, his money-grubbing exterior was simply a disguise for his heart of gold.

"You're doing a good thing, Dailo - don't worry, I won't tell a soul." He winked, and Dailo bowed his head in thanks. "Come on, Dark - I know a fast way to Lake Hylia from here."

Dark hadn't originally noticed that just beyond the carpeted entrance of the shop was the pond that he had seen from above. It was even larger and more intimidating from here, and he watched in horror as Link begin to wade into the pond without a second thought.

"Where are you going?" he asked, standing almost as if frozen as he stared out at the expanse of water in front of them.

"There's a shortcut to Lake Hylia under the water," Link explained. "Just about…there," he said, pointing to what seemed like an arbitrary spot. "This is the route the Zoras themselves take when visiting the Water Temple."

The Water Temple. Dark felt a shiver of fear run down his spine upon hearing the name. That was the place where Link had first fought him - though neither of them knew it at the time. He hadn't realized their journey would start out by taking him so close to it.

"Is everything okay?" Link asked, turning around to face Dark. The expression on his face made him walk out of the water, shaking the liquid away from his boots with every step. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," Dark snapped at him.

Link looked at him critically. Dark was most definitely not fine - he had seen this utter lack of confidence come over him only once before. There had to be a reason he was afraid. But the reason for his fear dawned on him at once as he remembered there were no rivers or ponds in the Sheikah villages, and that there was no water at all in the Temple of Light. But getting Dark to confirm that theory wasn't an exercise he was willing to undertake today.

"Of course," Link snapped his fingers as if coming to a sudden conclusion. "I forgot, we shouldn't go that way. Some Zoras are very particular about who uses that route. Let's not offend Javo, in case he feels that way." The excuse sounded lame, and he inwardly winced at his attempt at saving Dark from embarrassment, but it seemed to do the trick regardless.

"Really?" Dark asked, looking almost hopeful, but sounding very skeptical.

"Yes," Link said, smiling at him and walking back towards where they had come in. "The alternate route is walking across Hyrule Field. Let's go before it gets too late."

* * *

"I can't swim," Dark blurted out, once they were safely through the twisting maze of logs and bridges that made up the path to and from Zora's Domain.

"I know," Link said, not changing his pace or even otherwise acknowledging the considerable struggle that had been going on in Dark's head over the truth.

"You know?" Dark stared at him, starting to feel a little angry. "And you tried to drag me into the water anyway?" He conveniently forgot that he had avoided touching the water entirely, not to mention Link had never even asked him to.

"Only once I walked into the water," he responded lightly, not letting Dark's misplaced anger get to him. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Dark. A lot of people can't swim."

"I know that," he barked at him, settling into uneasy silence once more. They had walked only a little farther when he had to ask about something else that had been on his mind lately. "Are we going to the Water Temple?" He felt a bit nervous, but he had to know.

"No," Link told him, his pace quickening as he spied a wrought-iron fence in front of them. "At least I don't think we'll need to. The entrance to the Water Temple is at the bottom of the lake - and while the Zoras are there to protect it, they very rarely go inside."

Dark grunted in response, pleased with the answer. He even climbed over the set of fences without complaint, despite the iron tips at the top digging into his skin uncomfortably as he threw himself over the edge. "Is this…?" he asked uncertainly, staring at the large body of water that they were now looking out on.

"It is!" Link responded, not able to keep the spring from his step as he walked towards the edge of the water. "The largest body of water in all of Hyrule. Dark, welcome to La Hylia."

* * *

 **IN CLOSING**

I know this wasn't a great chapter, especially after such a ridiculously long wait, but I promise some better ones are on their way. I'm a little out of practice, and definitely having some trouble returning to characters after being away from them for so long, but I'm excited to finally be back to writing - just as I hope you're excited to be back to reading! Please continue to be patient with me - it may still be several months before my next chapter, but I'll work extra hard to get it out sooner.

As a reminder, please, please check out Wodan83's story, _Legend of Zelda: A Song of Spirits_. I would consider it a personal favor if you did so! Remember, put this URL snippet after the main FF link, or you can also access it from my list of favorite stories!

s/12208385/1/Legend-of-Zelda-A-Song-of-Spirits

Don't forget to check back for **Chapter 13**.Thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!


End file.
